Human stem cell cloning project begins at Harvard

Last Updated Tue, 06 Jun 2006 17:48:06 EDT
CBC News

Researchers associated with Harvard say they've started to clone human embryos to access stem cells, using private money.

In 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush banned the use of federal research funds for new lines of human embryonic stem cells.

Stem cells are like master cells that can produce any kind of tissue in the body.

"Our long-term goal is to create embryonic stem cells from a patient's tissues, correct the genetic defects, and get the repaired cells back into the patients," said George Daley, who will lead one research project at Boston Children's Hospital.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2006/06/06/stem-cells.html

here about cloning human stem cells which have the potential to develop into cells from any organ... we might some day be able to grown custom livers, hearts, kidneys, spinal nerve cells, who knows what... and save or dramatically improve millions of lives. Then I looked below and read that Mr. Bush of Florida has signed into law the right of pet owners to have their dogs eat at restaurants. I'm thinking: WTF? What kind of country do we live in where stem cell research and cloning is highly controversial, but people applaud new laws governing the household dogs' night out? Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's just all the meatballs I had for dinner. But I find it disturbing.

Ka-ching!

embryonic stem cells.

Nothing illegal about it; just the funding has to be private, or the researchers have to restrict themselves to specific stem-cell lines that were in existence by a certain date. Since the guy I know working with them doesn't publicize it, I have to assume that it's using private funds, and not one of the 11 or so pre-existing cell lines.

Apparently, rumor is that as of last year most published research involved those lines, anyway.