New Jersey Stem Cell Politics

New Jersey Stem Cell Politics

An article in the Asbury Park Press says that a poll last spring of 605 New Jersey voters last March that showed widespread support for stem cell research was paid for by the governor’s office, but that information was not included in the polling. The governor of New Jersey, Jim Codey, says that he was unaware of the connection. The governor’s chief of staff at the time (he is presently on leave), who commissioned the poll, said that he left the release of the information that it was paid for by the governor’s office up to the polling organization, the Civil Society Institute.

I’m not sure if this is politics as usual or has the potential for real scandal….

Another Heart Study With Patients’ Own Stem Cells

Another Heart Study With Patients’ Own Stem Cells

Researchers in Leuven, Belgium have announced via press release (on EurekAlert) another study in which patients who were treated with stem cells derived from their own bone marrow had improved heart function. The study was a double blind study with a placebo group. The patients who received the stem cells had a greater reduction in the size of the infarction (deadened tissue), which correlates with improved left ventricular function. Both the patients who received stem cells and the patients who received a placebo had improved function in general, but the stem cell patients who had the most damage to their hearts had a “global improvement.”

The release concludes that it is still too early to say that myocardial infarctions should be treated with stem cells and that research needs to continue. However, as more and more of these studies on using stem cells for heart patients are done, the better it is looking for people with heart failure. Obviously not every patient would be a candidate for stem cell therapy or the risks associated with anesthesia, but this seems to be a clearly important avenue of further work.

Hwang Admits Stem Cells Don’t Match

Hwang Admits Stem Cells Don’t Match

According to press reports on Science Daily (UPI) and in the Korea Times, Dr. Hwang Woo-suk told the Kyeongin Ilbo that the embryonic stem cells in his lab that he used in a 2004 article did not match the lines described in the article. The Korea Times reports that “That claim is in tune with Hwang’s remarks that stem cells described in the 2004 article were swapped with other cells.” Hwang, in other words, is admitting the cells don’t match but appears to still be holding to his claim that he had successfully done the cloning procedure.

The report from Seoul National University on his work is scheduled to be released today.

Poll Shows 53% of Texans Favor Embyonic Stem Cell Research

Poll Shows 53% of Texans Favor Embyonic Stem Cell Research

A poll of 800 Texans taken in October shows that 53% were in favor of embyonic stem cell research, the Houston Chronicle reports. The director of the Texas Right to Life Foundation says that the answers would have been different if the poll had stated that “the embryo is killed in the process of harvesting the stem cells” (text of article, not her direct statement).

The organization which conducted the poll, Research America, has polled 8 other states. New Hampshire and Hawaii had the highest favorable responses for embryonic stem cell research (both were above 70%), but Alabama and Arkansas respondents had favorable responses of over 60%.

The news article reports that the results were in line with polls sponsored by other organizations. The poll described the SCNT procedure without using the word cloning and got a 60% approval rating.

Conclusion: Language is important. “Facts” can be shaped by words. For example, what if I had called this post “Poll Shows Majority of Texans favor Embryonic Stem Cell Research”? How about “Polls Shows Texans Support Embyonic Stem Research by Narrow Margin”? You’d have a different idea of what the results were, wouldn’t you, even though either is a fair description of what 53% means.