May 14, 2004
Stem Cells: Repairing The Engines Of Life
Ames's story captures the tragic collision of hope and promise that defines the nascent field known as "regenerative medicine." A growing cadre of scientists in academic and biotech labs across the world are pioneering a new approach to curing disease. Their goal isn't to develop drugs that slow down the brain's decline or to fight heart failure by formulating copycat cholesterol-lowering pills and telling people to eat fewer potato chips. Scientists on this frontier hope to reprogram the human body to heal itself.Posted by Bob King at May 14, 2004 04:40 PM | TrackBackRegeneration is biotech's Holy Grail -- and the ultimate scientific conundrum. Most living creatures are hard-wired for healing. But when it comes to regrowing entire body parts, humans are curiously deficient. Sure, if we scrape a knee, we sprout new skin. Our livers also can regenerate to some degree. Even a severed fingertip will grow back under the right circumstances. But that pales in comparison to, say, a lowly newt, which can regrow a leg, tail, jaw, intestine, spine -- even parts of an eye. Scientists wish humans could do the same.
Many researchers, as well as patients and their relatives, are certain that stem cells offer one route to regeneration. That's why so many are coming forward to protest tough funding restrictions that the Bush Administration has slapped on research into stem cells derived from embryos. "I just don't see how we can turn our backs on this," said Nancy Reagan at a gala event on May 8 to raise money for stem-cell research. "We've lost so much time already, and I can't bear to lose any more."
Related Categories: Area - Tech - Stem Cells | Industry - Healthcare | Industry - Pharmaceutical/Biotech | Quadrant - Technological | Theme - 'The Biotech Century'
The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy (Basic Bioethics)The MIT Press
Amazon Price: $15.75
God and the Embryo: Religious Voices on Stem Cells and CloningGeorgetown University Press
Amazon Price: $17.79
The Stem Cell Controversy: Debating the Issues (Contemporary Issues (Prometheus))Prometheus Books
Amazon Price: $14.28
Stem Cells and The Future Of Regenerative MedicineNational Academy Press
Amazon Price: $19.95
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