By Kathleen Gilbert
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 10, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – As scientists continue to gather evidence that adult stem-cells hold great potential for healing and rebuilding human tissue, The Pentagon has announced it is investing a quarter-billion dollars into the research, reports CitizenLink.com.
The Pentagon plans to speed research in a five-year initiative to further unlock the ability of adult stem-cells to stop scarring, rebuild tendons and grow bones, in order to aid injured military personnel. Adult stem-cell therapy works by harnessing the patient’s own regenerative ability, since the cells are harvested from the patient’s own skin, bones, or wisdom teeth.
Col. Bob Vandre of the Army’s Medical Research & Materiel Command, who authorized the initiative, expressed excitement at the possibilities of adult stem cell research. “I think regenerative medicine is going to change the world,” he said. “I can see [it] increasing quality of lives, and becoming a huge technology that’ll completely change the way we do medicine throughout the country.”
Dr. David Prentice, senior fellow for life sciences at the Family Research Council, said there is little to suggest that embryonic stem-cell research carries the same promise, since only adult stem-cells have a proven track record.
“There’s such an obsession in the U.S. with embryonic stem cells,” said Prentice. “About all embryonic stem cells have done is make tumors in rats.”
For more information on the potential of adult vs. embryonic stem cells: https://www.citizenlink.org/FOSI/bioethics/cloning/A000002145.cfm
Related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Stem Cells in Baby’s Own Amniotic Fluid Used to Help Form New Organ Tissues
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08081410.html
Huge “Ethical” Embryonic-Like Stem Cell Discovery Not So Ethical After All – Fetal Cells Used
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/08010803.html