Stem Cell Research

As you know President Obama has just lifted the 8 year ban on federal funding for Stem Cell Research. Is it good or bad? The contraversy lies with how the stem cells are obtained. All of the cells in our body start out as 'stem cells' a basic cell that has no specific function. In eutero as the embryo grows those stem cells begin to take on certain functions. Some grow into liver cells, lung cells, skin cells etc. The key is to extract the stem cell before it turns into another specific cell and this usually needs to be done by extracting from an embryo. Scientist are comming up with new ways to create stem cells with out embryo extractions. SMA researchers have been able to use skin fibroblasts (skin cells) and break them down into what's called an IPS cell. The IPS cells are believed to be identical to embrionic stem cells. It is hoped that these IPS cells will open the doors to developing potentially new drugs or therapies for treatments of SMA. This research is a very new discovery and is years away from treatment possibilities. Maybe with new federal funding it will help with the advancements and I can only hope that maybe Riley will beable to reap the benefits of it.