It is a dream that scientists have been trying to plant in the minds of the Americans for years. It is the hope of one day finding a cure for dozens of diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis. Many scientists believe the answer to these dreams and hopes lies within human embryonic stem cells.\nTo study these ES cells, scientists must break open human embryos, or as some people view it, destroy potential human beings. Today, the ethical battle concerning ES cell research has divided society, causing many to question its future potential and wonder how close scientists are to making that vision a reality.
IU's Embryonic Stem Cell Ethics Class\nGeorge Malacinski is well aware of these questions. During his 35 years as a professor of biology and embryology at IU, Malacinski has taught students of animal ES cell research countless times. However, the first successful human embryonic stem cell experiment in 1998 created a venue for a new wave of arguments about the ethics of ES cell research. Today, Malacinski teaches the Intensive Freshmen Seminar course "Human Cloning and Embryonal Stem Cells: Yes or No?" in which he allows students to deliberate over the ethics of human ES cell research and learn how scientists turn a human embryo into potential cures for diseases. \nHuman ES cell research begins with a human at its earliest stage of development -- an embryo. Malacinski describes a human embryo as a spherical cluster of cells. The outside of an embryo consists of cells that protect it as it grows inside a woman's uterus. However, those cells are not what interest most scientists.\n"It is the cells on the inside that are important," Malacinski said.\nInside the embryo are embryonic stem cells, he said. If an embryo was to develop into a human being, these cells would form the more than 200 specialized cells in the human body, some of which include heart-muscle cells and skin cells. But in order to collect these ES cells, scientists must first break into the embryo.\n"That's when you end up killing (the embryo)," Malacinski said. "You have to bust it open."\nAfter collecting the ES cells and giving them time to multiply, Malacinski said scientists add hormones and protein growth factors under specific conditions to coax the cells into programming themselves to form specialized cells, such as nerve cells and bone-marrow cells. This ability for ES cells to grow into specialized cells is what gives many scientists hope to one day find treatments for debilitating and incurable diseases. \n"That is the magic of embryonal stem cells," Malacinski said. "We might be able to inject the (ES cells) that look like nerves into the brains of Alzheimer's patients and Parkinson's patients. (Embryonic stem cells) will grow themselves. That is the dream, and that is what all these biotech companies are trying to sell."\nAfter years of research, Malacinski said scientists still have not been able to create the "replacement parts" for which they hoped. The apparent lack of results has many Americans skeptical as to whether this research is really worth destroying embryos. \nFor Malacinski's former student senior Robin Meleski, the issue of ES cell research is more personal. She has struggled with diabetes for eight years, just one of the many diseases scientists hope to one day cure with ES cell research. \n"I have seen people's lives destroyed by the diseases that could be cured if scientists had the money for research," she said. "If the stem cells would be destroyed anyway, why not use them for a good cause and potential cures?" \nMost of the embryos scientists use for research are frozen in fertility clinics, Malacinski explained. Eventually, thousands of these embryos will die from the cold. However, to many people around the world, this is just a mere technicality.\n"Some say, it doesn't make sense to start killing embryos, even if they are destined to rot in a freezer," Malacinski said. "It is the principle of the dignity of respect of human life."
Adult Stem Cells: An Alternative\nAs a result of this controversy, many people are beginning to support research of another cell type: adult stem cells. Since AS cells are found in the human body in places like bone-marrow, muscle-tissue and the placenta, the "killing" of an embryo is not required. \nMalacinski said these cells act "somewhat" like ES cells in that AS cells seem to have some capacity to grow into specialized cells. However, with so few AS cells in the human body, Malacinski said they are not nearly as easy to collect as ES cells. \n"Take a chunk of muscle," he said, "it is like looking for a needle in a haystack."\nThe other problem surrounding AS cell research is the cells' inability to easily grow into different cell types. When put under the same conditions as ES cells, scientists find it harder to gain results.\n"You might get (AS cells) to develop into something that looks like nerve cells," Malacinski said. "The argument is that these (AS cells) are imposters. They look like nerve cells, but they aren't really the same thing."\nHowever, during the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Americans heard audience member Elizabeth Long mention to Sen. John Kerry that "thousands of people have already been cured or treated by the use of adult stem cells." \n"I don't think a scientist has ever said that," Malacinski said.\nHe commented that when AS cells do grow into specialized cells, they grow too weakly to ever serve as a replacement tissues in humans. On the other hand, ES cells have a tendency to grow too quickly, often forming tumors.
Government Involvement\nAs this ethical battle rages on, many Americans question where the government could alternatively spend the millions of dollars allocated for ES cell research. For many, the answer is health insurance, Malacinski said.\nAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2003 there were 45 million Americans without health insurance, a number that seems to be increasing each year. Because of this, Malacinski said some people feel that if scientists do find cures for diseases using ES cells, those cures would only be available to the very rich and "aggravate the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots.'"\nMeleski, however, said she believes it is possible for the government to fund ES cell research while also spending money to buy health insurance for these thousands of Americans.\n"I think there could be enough money for both projects if the right person was heading the projects," she said. "Both topics need more funding and are equally important."\nWhile the answer to who is that right person to allocate federal funding could change after today's presidential election, last year President George W. Bush took matters into his own hands. In 2003, he passed a law limiting the number of ES cell strands available for research to the 60 strands already in use. However, today scientists argue that more than two-thirds of those strands are defective, according to data kept by the National Institute of Health registry. Bush also limited the amount of federal funding to the National Institute of Health to $250 million for ES cell research.\nMalacinski said these measures are not surprising. He said the federal government often tries to avoid supporting areas of "high risk," especially those as controversial as ES cell research.\n"Let me say that the federal government can only do so much," Malacinski said. \nMalacinski noted that some states, such as New Jersey and California, also are granting state funds toward ES cell research with hopes of generating jobs. While Americans across the nation will cast their votes for president today, citizens of California will also vote on whether they want to allocate $3 billion of their state funds to ES cell research.
Dreams vs. Reality\nAs for the future of stem cell research, Malacinski said the "dream" of having therapies for diseases could still be years away. However, as scientists continue to study embryos, they will learn more about the development of ES cells and gain insight into why some embryos develop certain birth defects. Malacinski said studying what conditions cause these defects could help future scientists discover how to prevent them. \nOne of the most recent accomplishments occurred back in February when a group of South Korean researchers created human embryos through cloning ES cells. Malacinski said this creates a hopeful outlook for disease prevention. In the future, he said scientists might be able to continually re-create an embryo that they are almost certain will later develop Parkinson's or diabetes and study it to learn how to possibly stop the disease from forming. \nCloning, however, will likely create a new wave of ethical and complex issues. As for now, Malacinski remains realistic that, regardless of federal funding, ES cell research has its possibilities, but the "dream" of using the cells for human therapies might be further off than some would like to believe.\n"Embryonic stem cell researchers are probably realistic and realize in their lifetimes there's not going to be replacement parts on the shelf," he said. "(ES cells) could lead to other benefits, but the replacement parts story is easy to sell to the general public. Everyone can understand it."\n-- Contact staff writer Katie O'Keefe at kjokeefe@indiana.edu.
