Senate & UN Debate Res for CURES!-Response

[Guest guest]

From what I have read, the problem with cord blood cells is 1) they are not pluripotent but have "plasticity" and 2) they are subject to rejection unless immunosuppression drugs are used. It is my understanding the study of cord blood cells, adult and embryonic stem cells will ultimately lead to somatic stem cell transfer (SCNT). SCNT stem cells are obtained by combining the patients skin cells (DNA) with a gamete. SCNT stem cells are pluripotent and because it's the patient's DNA , they are not subject to rejection and will not require immunosuppression drugs.

If you are NOT in favor of SCNT, you should contact your senators and request them to vote in favor of s.245, which will ban all therapeutic stem cell research. If it passes both houses, that will be the end of therapeutic stem cell research , with the exception of other countries and private research. Likewise, you should contact your senators to vote for s.303 , if you want to proceed with therapeutic stem cell research and ban cloning.

Very conservative people are in favor of s.303, e.g. Reagan, Orrin Hatch, Arlen Spector, etc. Also very liberal people are in favor or s.303 , e.g., Kennedy and Diane Finestein, Carl Levin, etc. Ultra-conservatives like Brownback are against. If you examine the likely votes for s.303, it's a mixed bag. At least in this day and age, no one will be placed under house arrest, like Galileo and Copernicus were for their scientific views.

Biomark International has been a subject of discussion on this forum. About two weeks ago, the FDA closed Biomark but no details were given as to why they were closed. I suspect, that if in fact their patients were truly injected with cord blood stem cells, the patients were subject to rejection.

I guess it all gets down to your particular religious point of view....."a definition of when life begans". Does the sun go around the earth or does the earth go around the sun.

Maybe, since very personal religious views underlie this debate, it could be decided that those who are in favor of s.303 pay for the research, those who are not in favor do not pay. And, it would only be fair that those who pay, are the only ones who participate in any cures that may be found. And, that those who didn't pay, their progeny for the next 50 generations would be excluded.