The problem is that opponents of the institute have tied it up in countless lawsuits and until these are solved, the state will not issue the bonds. Not all of its foes oppose the institute on ethical grounds. Some believe that the money should be spent on California's pressing social problems. Some oppose more taxation. Some -- including a number of legislators -- are critical of the institute's unusual system of governance, which was devised to minimise meddling by legislators and the public.
In the meantime, the institute has subsisted on a $3 million loan from the state and a $5 million gift from audio magnate Ray Dolby. But this money will run out in May. And as the months pass, more bad news leaks out. The latest is that royalties to the state from research will be far less than forecast. Advocates of the institute once talked about $537 to $1.1 billion over the next 35 years. In August a commission set up by the state legislature reported that these projections were "based on unrealistic assumptions about the potential economic impact" of the stem cell program. The institute is "engaged in expectation management, both financial and scientific", says Jesse Reynolds of the Center for Genetics and Society, who supports embryo research, but opposes the institute. ~ New York Times, Dec 10
A government-appointed committee has proposed that Australian legislation be amended to allow both the creation of hybrid embryos and therapeutic cloning. If accepted by its Parliament, Australia would have the world's most progressive embryo legislation.
Amongst the radical reforms proposed are the authorisation of cross- species embryos, a practice allowed no where else in the world, hybrid fertilisation, therapeutic cloning, and the export and import of embryos. The report strongly supports the commercialisation of embryo research but stresses that patients must not share in the profits which might arise from the use of their tissue.
Central to its recommendations is a redefinition of the term embryo". This is commonly thought of as a fertilised egg, but the committee says that the entity only becomes an embryo after about 16 hours, at the time of the first cell cleavage.
The report, chaired by retired judge John Lockhart, has been hailed by scientists who are reassuring the public that they will not use the liberalised laws to do reproductive cloning. The convener of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research in Australia, Joanna Knott, said the provisions, if adopted, would bring Australia into line with Britain, Singapore, South Korea and Japan. "For the millions of Australians that could benefit from future treatments, we need this groundbreaking research urgently," she commented.
The Lockhart committee was created to review controversial 2002 legislation which occasioned the longest debate in the history of the Australian parliament. Although this ended up giving a green light to research on spare IVF embryos, it still banned therapeutic cloning, pending this year's review.
The committee was told to assess embryo research and cloning in the light of "community standards". It turns out that there are so many communities" in Australia, with so many people belonging to several communities, that it is impossible to establish a consensus. The committee therefore appears to have taken a utilitarian line and called for the legalisation of almost every activity with a potential benefit.
Critics complained that Christmas came early for IVF clinics and stem cell researchers. Nearly everything they have asked for over the past three years won the approval of the Lockhart committee. Even oversight of IVF services and embryo research would be handed to a licensing committee empowered to authorise unusual research without consulting Parliament or the National Health and Medical Research Council. The committee's final recommendation was the creation of programs to give the public the true story about the potential of embryo research. ~ Lockhart review website; Sydney Morning Herald, Dec 20
NEW DISCOVERY COULD BYPASS EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS
American researchers have coaxed adult stem cells from adult mice to change into brain, nerve, heart and pancreatic cells -- a discovery that could put embryonic stem cells in the shade. A researcher at the University of Louisville, Dr Mariusz Ratajczak, said, "We have found a counterpart for embryonic stem cells in adult bone marrow. This could negate the ethical concerns." His next move will be to replicate the experiment with similar cells identified in adult humans.
"It's huge," said Ryan Reca, one of the researchers. "It's an amazing discovery." "If cells from adult humans behave the same, the discovery goes from 'very important' to 'incredibly important'," said Dr Stephen Emerson, of the University of Pennsylvania.
The cells are called "very small embryonic-like" cells, or VSELs, which exist in blood and help to repair damaged tissue after strokes. Ratajczak's discovery revolves around how to grow these in the laboratory, multiply them and change them into other cells with his patented growth factors. He has managed to get the VSELs to produce cardiac muscle cells, pancreatic cells, nerve cells and brain cells. ~ Courier-Journal, Dec 13
And in other good news on the adult stem cell front, researchers at the UK's University of Bristol have successfully grown human cartilage from bone marrow stem cells for the first time. "Our aim within a decade is to develop a cure for arthritis, and we have taken an important step down that road. This is the first time that proper cartilage has been grown in test tube," said Professor Anthony Hollander. ~ London Daily Telegraph, Dec 18
PRAGUE CHECKS OUT EUTHANASIA
Euthanasia has become a hot topic in the Czech Republic. As part of a revision of the criminal code, a bill before parliament sets a maximum penalty for assisting a suicide at six years, but sets no minimum penalty. This opens the door to allowing people who assist in suicides to walk away with only a token punishment, say critics of the bill. Its supporters claim that the law would simply distinguish between the different motivations for killing.
MP Miroslav Rethmann commented that "the main aim of the criminal code was to offer more protection, a better protection of human life. However, the way it has been worked out, the law in fact says that under certain circumstances some lives do not deserve the same protection as others." ~ Prague Post, Dec 14
SWISS HOSPITAL TO LEND SUICIDES A HAND
And in Switzerland, a university hospital will begin offering its wards for assisted suicides, provided that the person is of sound mind and incurably ill. Until now, Swiss hospitals had refused to cooperate with the suicide organisations which have flourished there. But after two years of debate and consultation, the University of Lausanne has opened its doors. "We are not trying to encourage suicide," says the hospital's legal and ethical director, Alberto Crespo. " But at the same time, as a hospital, we have to respect the wishes of someone who wants to die. We can't be paternalistic. We can't decide for a person what they should do. It is up to the person to decide whether they want to live or not." ~ Guardian, Dec 19
SAS SOLDIER KILLS SON AND WALKS AWAY FREE
A former British SAS soldier has walked away with a two-year suspended sentence after killing his disabled 10-year-old son. Andrew Wragg, 38, admitted that he had killed his son Jacob, who had Hunter Syndrome, but he described it as a mercy killing. He sent his wife and other son out for the evening, drank himself "silly" and then smothered the child with a pillow. The jury cleared him of murder.
Muriel Gray, a Glasgow columnist, popular horror novelist and former rector of Edinburgh University, was scathing in her criticism of the case. "[Justice] Rafferty's decision appears to be based on the fact that she considers the parents of disabled children, on her sliding scale of suffering, to be right up there at the top, demonstrated when she talked about the 'remorseless strain' and pressure that Jacob put on his parents. The subtext is as patronising as it is bleak. It's 'Blimey mate. A life of clearing up snot, pooh and vomit from a kid who can't see, speak or walk, and is going to die horribly anyway! Who can blame you, eh?
So that's clear then. All of us parents out here, who care for our severely disabled children, are actually wasting our time, because not only are we suffering more than anyone else you can possibly imagine and are therefore excused if we turn murderous, but it's now apparent that our disabled children's lives are worth considerably less than the able-bodied. Go on. Get yourself down to Textile World, pick out a pillow and give yourself a break."
In court, Mr Wragg was described as a "brilliant" man who was "a wonderful father". Mr Wragg agreed: "It is insulting to me and to Jacob to suggest that what I did was selfish," he said. ~ BBC, Dec 12; Sunday Herald, Dec 18
IN BRIEF: IVF; Parkinson's
IVF: Doctors fail to test for endometriosis, a disease of the lining of the uterus which causes infertility, before giving their patients IVF treatment , suggests an article in the journal Fertility and Sterility. Although the study was based on only 29 women, the research has important implications since endometriosis affects up to 50% of infertile women. Dr Camran Nezhat, of Stanford University, says that the pendulum has swung too far in favour of IVF -- which requires powerful fertility drugs that can carry serious side effects -- and treating endometriosis first may help women conceive. ~ Wall Street Journal, Dec 13
Parkinson's: Patients suffering from Parkinson's disease have been helped by implants of donor cells from the retina. The cells produce levodopa which is needed for the brain to produce the neurotransmitter dopamine. Researchers at the University of Alabama are planning a larger study. ~ Reuters, Dec 13
HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR TO OUR READERS![The veterinary school of Seoul National University, where Professor Hwang Woo-suk`s stem cell lab is located, is under strict surveillance as people must pass through security checks to enter the building. [Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald]](../Images/2005_images/187-snu-1.jpg)
The descent of Hwang Woo-suk from the world's premier stem cell scientist to disgraced liar is nearly complete. Seoul National University has sealed off his office and secured materials from his lab as it began a probe to determine whether his highly-praised research was either a deliberate fraud or just a badly botched experiment. In any case, Hwang has told the journal Science, which published his ground-breaking paper back in May, that he wishes to retract it.