Stem Cell Research

I just read about this this morning and thought I would share. There have been several breakthroughs in stem cell research over this past summer. I am no scientist, so I might communicate this information inadequately, but here is how I understand it: Last year some scientists were able to change normal skin cells into an embryonic state with an injection (not very invasive method). These cells performed the same function as embryonic stem cells. With merely an injection, adult skin cells were able to replace the need for embryonic stem cells. Another team of scientists from Harvard and Columbia were able to duplicate the results from last year and used these adult skin cells to treat a patient with Lou Gehrig's disease. A separate team from Harvard was able to do the same thing with cells from Type I diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, Down's syndrome, and 2 forms of muscular dystrophy. All this has been done within President Bush's ban on embryonic stem cell research. There is still a lot of research to be done and these experimental results do not mean that we have perfected the use of adult stem cells, but it is a huge step in eliminating any need for embryonic stem cells.

Even after these results have been published and made available to the public, Obama still said that he will immediately overturn President Bush's ban on embryonic stem cell research. I'm not saying that you should vote for McCain because of this, but it is something to consider.