Obama lifts ban on embryonic stem cell research

[valvura]

Hi Guys. What's your take on this?

Obama lifts Bush ban on stem cell research

by Jitendra Joshi

President Barack Obama lifted a ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, lauding potential medical breakthroughs and a new era for US science shorn of political ideology.
The president signed an executive order reversing predecessor George W. Bush's ban, which critics say hampered the fight to find treatments for grave diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and diabetes.
Warning that scientists were deserting the United States for other nations, Obama said "medical miracles" come about only through painstaking research and rejected the "false choice" between sound science and moral values.
"When government fails to make these investments, opportunities are missed. Promising avenues go unexplored," he said at a White House ceremony attended by US lawmakers, religious leaders and scientists including three Nobel laureates.
"Ultimately, I cannot guarantee that we will find the treatments and cures we seek. No president can promise that," Obama said.
"But I can promise that we will seek them -- actively, responsibly, and with the urgency required to make up for lost ground," he said, paying tribute to research advocates such as late Superman actor Christopher Reeve.
Obama directed the National Institutes of Health to formulate guidelines within 120 days on how to proceed with federal research on lines of stem cells procured from private laboratories such as fertility clinics.
His order cannot affect a congressional ban on federal money being used directly to create new stem cells, which are primitive cells from early-stage embryos capable of developing into almost every tissue of the body.
Obama, who has already broken with Bush in other areas such as climate change, endangered species and family planning, also issued a presidential memorandum "restoring scientific integrity to government decision making."
In a clear rebuke of his predecessor, the president ordered officials to ensure that "we base our public policies on the soundest science," and appoint scientific advisors based on expertise and "not their politics or ideology."
Obama said his administration was opening up a "new front" for US scientific endeavor -- but would not permit stem cell research to stray into human cloning, which he said "has no place in our society, or any society."
There was fierce fire from social conservatives and right-to-life groups, who back research on cells taken from human adults rather than embryos.
House of Representatives Republican leader John Boehner said Obama had undermined "protections for innocent life, further dividing our nation at a time when we need greater unity to tackle the challenges before us."
US Catholic Cardinal Justin Rigali called Obama's announcement "a sad victory of politics over science and ethics."
But veteran Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy, who is battling a malignant brain tumor, said Obama had "righted an immense wrong done to the hopes of millions of patients."
"The president's action today unlocks the enormous potential of life-sustaining medical progress against a wide range of serious illnesses and injuries, all within strong ethical guidelines," he said.
Reeve Foundation president Peter Wilderotter said that "with a stroke of his pen," Obama had tapped into the will of most Americans for potentially life-saving research.
"By removing politics from science, President Obama has freed researchers to explore these remarkable stem cells, learn from them and possibly develop effective therapies using them," he said.
Bush barred federal funding from supporting work on new lines of stem cells derived from human embryos in 2001, allowing research only on a small number of embryonic stem cell lines that existed at the time. The former president argued that using human embryos for scientific research -- which often involves their destruction -- crossed a moral barrier and urged scientists to consider alternatives.[/quote]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090310...p3v5a0QtJ34T0D

so human cloning is just around the corner.

[ghosthunter]

I agree with the decision. It was truly pointless to ban embryonic stem cell research when so many people can be potentially helped by positive results in the research.

[valvura]

Well the argument here really is on how do we conceive or believe the beginning of Life of a human being. Is there no life yet in an embryo, or after fertilization in the union of sperm & egg cells?

Sinasabi naman na may research din na puwede kumuha ng cells mula sa human adult, bakit hindi na lang ito ang i-explore?

"There was fierce fire from social conservatives and right-to-life groups, who back research on cells taken from human adults rather than embryos."

[Horsepower]

We are intelligent beings far capable of doing so many great things. Let's not let anything limit that.

[Jun aka Pekto]

There was no ban on the research. What was banned was federal funding aka taxpayer's money.

[Gen. Miting]

stem cell research. kakatakot yan. ibig sabihin magkakarun ng another computer science course sa next generation. but this time hindi na electronics ang main focus, biological na

[CVT]

One of the fundamental differences between a Democrat and a Republican, I think...

7606:mobile1:

[jansky]

Transformer Era begin

[empy]

this thread should be fun with all the Christian fundamentalists lurking about :lurk:

:popcorn:

[pitbullz]

nabasa ko elsewhere na pwedeng gamitin yun nerve ng ipin na binunot ayos sa isang japanese scientist...

[valvura]

sci-fi fictions will become reality...mutant turtles...mutant monkeys...

embryo = fetus = abortion = sin to humanity = 0 value for LIFE!

[empy]

....and off we go! :rofl01:

[uls]

please take religion out of this

the whole point of stem cell research is to grow new organs and tissues

like if you need a new liver or kidney, you don't need to wait for a donor

they will just grow one for you in a lab or maybe inject you with stem cells that will regenerate your liver or kidney cells

or if you have a spinal cord injury and you end up paralyzed, they can inject stem cells into you so your damaged spine would regenerate

or if you lost a finger or an arm, stem cells can make your body grow a new finger or arm

for now ang problema nila is stem cells can make cells grow out of control (causing cancer)

i would want to live long enough to benefit from that technology

so mabuti ang ginawa ni Obama

Bush is crazy

God talks to him daw

God told him to attack Iraq

God told him not to fund stem cell research

[safeorigin]

well the ideology goes this way. you save somebody's life at the expense of somebody else. tbh, i'd rather go for prosthetic than stem cell replacement. but imho, they should research more on prevention or maybe even cell activation or probably even carcinogen/mutagen resistance or maybe even nanomachines!

[uls]

scientific advancement can't be stopped

if scientists can't do their research in the States, they can always do it in Europe or Asia (Korea, Japan)

[valvura]

http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics3.asp

Embryonic stem cells, as their name suggests, are derived from embryos. Specifically, embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos that develop from eggs that have been fertilized in vitro—in an in vitro fertilization clinic—and then donated for research purposes with informed consent of the donors. They are not derived from eggs fertilized in a woman's body. The embryos from which human embryonic stem cells are derived are typically four or five days old and are a hollow microscopic ball of cells called the blastocyst. The blastocyst includes three structures: the trophoblast, which is the layer of cells that surrounds the blastocyst; the blastocoel, which is the hollow cavity inside the blastocyst; and the inner cell mass, which is a group of approximately 30 cells at one end of the blastocoel.

ok, we cannot single out Obama's administration as there could be covert advancement in this technology already especially in europe (remember the cloning of "Dolly" the sheep?). it depends on the type, culture & (religious) beliefs of the people who are investing money in this "scientific advancement".

[rion]

well the ideology goes this way. you save somebody's life at the expense of somebody else. tbh, i'd rather go for prosthetic than stem cell replacement. but imho, they should research more on prevention or maybe even cell activation or probably even carcinogen/mutagen resistance or maybe even nanomachines!

I'm all for family planning, anything that is not yet fertilized, ok pa sa akin. but from the embryo, hindi na malinis concience ko dyan. hehe...

Oo nga, mas ok lang sana nanomachines noh?

[Gen. Miting]

please take religion out of this

the whole point of stem cell research is to grow new organs and tissues

like if you need a new liver or kidney, you don't need to wait for a donor

they will just grow one for you in a lab or maybe inject you with stem cells that will regenerate your liver or kidney cells

or if you have a spinal cord injury and you end up paralyzed, they can inject stem cells into you so your damaged spine would regenerate

or if you lost a finger or an arm, stem cells can make your body grow a new finger or arm

for now ang problema nila is stem cells can make cells grow out of control (causing cancer)

i would want to live long enough to benefit from that technology

so mabuti ang ginawa ni Obama

Bush is crazy

God talks to him daw

God told him to attack Iraq

God told him not to fund stem cell research

the problem is the radicals. what if for example, somebody wants 3 kidneys in the body so that he can all he wants.

or photographer grows a third arm, one for supporting the camera, one for focusing the camera and one for signaling/guiding the model. syempre advantage 'to mas kikita ka ng pera kaysa sa iba kasi multi-tasking. even big business will hire you over and over kasi mas efficient ka.

or the worst, a bi***ual grows two organs. and takes two different ***es at a time.

this is mutant. this is superhero all over. pero kayo na nga nagsasabi, all is done to benefit oneself first.

ang dami ko pa naisip, imagine foot soldiers/commandos with 3 feet. yun nga gagamba kahit anong bilis ng lamok, huli.

[Gen. Miting]

Transformer Era begin

puwede din ito. sa tingin ko magsimula ito by adding a USB port on our bodies. in this way, di mo na kelangan bumili ng MP3 or video players or even PSP. translated na kagad ang digital signals sa nerves and sense mo.