| Stem
Cell Research & Cloning: Panacea, Politics or Pandora's Box?
Meeting Minutes for April
13, 2005; #183
Dr. Gregory Forbes, Biological Sciences, Grand Rapids
Community College
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Embryology 101
- Gametes- Egg & sperm
- Germ Cell- Gondal cells that undergoes
division to become gametes
- Zygote- Cell resulting from fusion
of egg & sperm
- Somatic Cell- Cells that make up
the tissues e.g., muscle, nervous
- Determined / Differentiated Cell-
Cell that will develop into a cell with a specific function.
No longer a generic cell e.g., stem cell. @ 200 differentiated
cell types in humans.
- Stem Cell (SC)- Cells that have
the ability to divide many times & yield new cells that
will then specialize.
Stem Cells 101
- Cells that have the ability to divide many times
& yield new cells that will then specialize
- Some SC are resident in tissues to provide new
cells when required.
- Other SC are migratory traveling to sites of
injury e.g., from bone marrow to bone shaft to become blood,
cartilage, bone, fat, collagen fibers, etc.
Sources of Stem Cells
- Human embryos from fertility clinics
- Cloned embryos (therapeutic cloning)
- Amniotic cord blood
Stages of Embryonic Development
- Fertilization- Formation of the zygote
- Blastula- Early developmental stage with
undetermined cells
- Gastrula- Early developmental stage with
determined cells
- Growth- Increase in # of generic cells
(from 2-cell stage until end of blastula)
- Determination- Cells become specialized
- Differentiation- Cells organize into
tissues
- Morphogenesis- Tissue organize into organs
& organ systems
Cloning 101
- Cloning- The production of genetically
“identical” cells or individuals via the manipulation
of a “parent” cell.
- Embryonic cloning- Cloning using early
embryonic states e.g., 2 or 4 cell stage
- Adult (somatic) cloning- Cloning using
differentiated somatic cells.
Cloning Timeline
- Feb 23, 1997: Ian Wilmut, Roslin Inst. in Scotland
announces Dolly’s birth from adult DNA.
- March 4, 1997: Clinton bans federal funding
w/in US.
- June 1997: Congress. Bioethics comm. recommends
banning of procedure to create babies.
- Jan. 1998: Physicist & fertility researcher
Richard Seed announces plans to clone human (himself).
- States pass laws to prevent human cloning.
- Jan. 1998: All 13 members of the Council of
Europe & 6 other nations ban human cloning but allow other
research. Britain & Germany did not sign.
- February, 1998- Dems propose 10 yr human cloning
band, Repubs propose permanent ban.
- Nov., 2004- Calif. Passes legislation to fund
stem cell research
Where Have all the Stem Cells Gone?
- 78 existing lines originally approved by president
(2001). (lines originate with a single cell)
- 7 were duplicates.
- 31 are at overseas labs that have not made them
available.
- 16 died after thawing.
- 1 withdrawn because donor withheld consent
- 1 line still being developed (grown)
- Only19 lines remain (2005) and they may be contaminated
w/mouse viruses!
Where is the Research Money
- 2003 25 million Fed funds for embryonic SC research
- 2003 191 million Fed funds for adult SC research
How About Private Funding?
- Harvard’s Dr. Doug Melton produced 17 new
cell lines. Funds from Harvard, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation,
Howard Huges Medical Inst.
- Harvard’s Dr. Doug Melton produced 17
new cell lines. Funds from Harvard, Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation, Howard Huges Medical Inst.
- UC San Francisco’s Dr. Susan Fisher created
human stem cells from determined cells. Funds from UC and biotech
company Geron.
Why not rely on private funding?
- Relying on private money is “...like saying
we could open the public schools from 10 to 10:15, but you’re
welcome to send your kids to private schools”.
- (Nobel Prize recipient Dr. Peter Agre of Johns
Hopkins)
- “Stem cell research doesn’t
offer a cure right around the corner and it’s irresponsible
to suggest that it does”. (Laura Bush, October 2004 Cited
in Newsweek 10/24/04)
How Many Might Benefit from Stem Cell/ Cloning
Research in the USA?
( Newsweek, October 25, 2004)
- Cardiovascular disease- 58 million
- Autoimmune disorders- 30 million
- Diabetes- 16 million
- Osteoporosis- 10 million
- Cancers- 8.2 million
- Alzheimer’s- 4.5
- Parkinson’s- 1.5
- Severe burns- 0.3
- Spinal cord injuries- 0.25
- Birth defects- 0.15
- Total= 128.6 m / 293,600,000 or 43.9%
of US pop.!!!
- California will fund $3 billion worth of Stem
Cell research!
The Bioethical Debate
- Should cloning/SC research be allowed in: the
USA? the world?
- If allowed, should the US government fund it?
- If the US doesn’t provide funding, how
about the state support?
- What is your biggest concern about the research:
being done? not being done?
- Are you concerned that the technology will be
developed out of the US?
- Research can continue w/o government funding.
Is the government putting it’s head in the sand?
- Is cloning of humans cells ok as long as embryos
aren’t produced?
- What about fertility clinic embryos?
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