Politics
Wednesday July 1, 2009
General Electric to Use Embryonic Stem Cells for Testing, Phase Out Lab Rats
TODAY'S HEADLINES
E-MAIL
PRINT
By Alex Bush
BOSTON, Mass, July 1, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - General Electric has announced that it will use embryonic stem cells provided by Geron Corporation for the purpose of testing toxic effects of drug treatments.
GE issued a statement, attempting to preempt criticism over the decision, saying, "We acknowledge the considerable debate and take very seriously the ethical and societal issues associated with research using stem cells derived from embryonic or fetal tissue."
"We conduct our research in an ethically and scientifically responsible manner," the statement said.
However, embryonic stem cells have been the center of heated controversy since harvesting the cells requires the destruction of embryonic human beings.
But Geron Corporation indicates that in this case it believes that the ends justify the means.
"Up to three quarters of toxicity problems are not detected until preclinical or later stages of drug development and this significantly increases the cost of developing new drugs," Geron Corporation said in a press release, "Earlier detection of toxicity problems could reduce both overall drug development costs and potentially harmful patient exposure in clinical trials."
Konstantin Fielder, General Manager of Cell Technologies at GE Healthcare said that stem cells harvested from human embryos could even replace lab rats as the primary scientific testing method.
"Once you have human cells and you can get them in a standardized way, like you get right now your lab rats in a standardized way, you can actually do those experiments on those cells," he said.
Both GE and Geron have said that the stem cells to be used are listed on a National Institutes of Health registry, making them eligible for use in the United States.
Contact Information for General Electric:
https://www.ge.com/contact/contact_form.html?ref=http://www.ge.com/
Or by phone: (203) 373-2211
Back to TopLatest Headlines
- Major Health Care Development - Pro-Life Stupak Amendment Vote OK'd for Today
- NY Times: Dems Banking on Later Squeezing Pro-Life Language Out of Bill in Committee
- USCCB Spokesman: "Definitely Not True" that Bishops Support Bill As it Stands
- TIME Got it Wrong - Prof. George Opposed Grandiose Kennedy Funeral
- USCCB Condemnation Tears Facade off "Phony" Abortion Compromise for Health Bill
- Health Care Bill Includes Monthly Abortion Premium: House Minority Leader Boehner
- TIME Article Setting Burke Against O'Malley Called "Tactical strike" on Behalf of Catholic Left
- Dirty Fighting on Abortion Funding: Word-Games and Health-Care Theatrics Boggle the Mind
- Commentary on November 6 News
- Note to LifeSiteNews Subscribers with Rogers email addresses
- New York Gov. Declares Nov. 10 Extraordinary Legislative Session for Same-Sex "Marriage"
- Washington's Pro-Family Amendment Effort Defeated - R-71 Almost Certain to Pass
- Vote Pushed Back on Canadian Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Bill to Dec. 2
- Elderly U.K. Couple in Good Health Commit Suicide, Complain of Assisted Suicide Law
- Texas Late-Term Abortionist and Baptist Minister Admits: "Am I killing? Yes, I am"
- New Evidence Contradicts CCHD's Findings on Accused Pro-Abortion Partner
- Quebec Priest Denies Possibility of Sexual Reorientation Therapy on TV
- New Hampshire Same-Sex "Marriage" Law in Crosshairs after Maine's Law Crumbles
- Brooklyn Bishop Criticized for Recorded Message Praising Pro-Abortion Politician
- First Group of "Traditionalist" Anglicans in Britain Votes to Enter Catholic Church
Most Read this Week
- Planned Parenthood Director Resigns after Watching Ultrasound of Abortion Procedure
- Breaking: Dominican Community Apologizes for Nun Caught Acting as Abortion Escort
- Nun Defiant Following Rebuke, but Stops Abortion Escorting
- Over 200 Christendom College Students Protest Abortion at Planned Parenthood Clinic
- TIME Article Setting Burke Against O'Malley Called "Tactical strike" on Behalf of Catholics Left
- Scottish Gay Rights Activists Found Guilty of Pedophilia Sentenced to Life Imprisonment
- Newly Identified Corporate Supporters of Planned Parenthood Named
- Canadian MP Launches Petition to Stop Federal Funding of Planned Parenthood
- Health Care Bill Includes Monthly Abortion Premium: House Minority Leader Boehner
- Planned Parenthood's President Lashes Out at USCCB
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.