Campus stem cell focus shifts from funding to research
After the recent lifting of embryonic stem cell research restrictions, scientists say they can get down to the business of finding cures for serious diseases.
"We were spending a lot more time getting funding than researching," said Justin Oh-Lee, a psychology professor. "Now time can be dedicated to actually do research."
Oh-Lee currently is researching for a cure for Parkinson's disease with funding from the National Institution of Health.
On March 9, President Barack Obama lifted restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research. Under the Bush administration, federal funding was limited to research on 21 specific stem cell lines created prior to August 2001.
The purpose of the order is to remove limitations on scientific inquiry, to expand support for exploration of human stem cell research and enhance the contribution of America's scientists to import new discoveries, according to the White House.
At CMU, the Brain Research and Integrative Neuroscience Center, located in the Health Professions Building, uses stem cells to improve treatments and discover effective therapies for Parkinson's, Huntington's and Alzheimer's diseases.
Gary Dunbar, a psychology professor, said the new order will not affect CMU directly because the BRAIN Center uses adult stem cells and tries to make them function in ways similar to embryonic stem cells.
Scientists hope to use the embryonic stem cells to rebuild damaged spinal cords or form insulin-producing pancreatic tissue in a diabetic patient.
The stem cells are extracted from live human embryos discarded at fertility clinics.
Many anti-abortion advocates are against using them because they relate it to abortion, said Karl Bouwhuis, president of College Democrats and a Lowell senior.
Bouwhuis said with Proposal 2 being approved in Michigan last November, a lot of the cells for the research are from In Vitro fertilization.
Under the proposal, the embryos are created for fertility treatment purposes and would be discarded unless used for research. They would be donated by the person seeking fertility treatment.
"They would just be thrown away, so they would be put to better use (with stem cell research) than to just be destroyed," said Bouwhuis.
Sean Nolan, a Muskegon senior and president of Students for Life said this is an important argument to have, but basing the argument on the fact that the embryonic cell is just going to be thrown away is not sufficient.
"It doesn't justify human experimentation," he said. "Should we be creating this excess of embryos knowing we are going to discard some of (them)?"
university@cm-life.com
