Stem cell funds may go to U. New Mexico

Gov. Bill Richardson announced support for legislation Friday that will give $10 million for embryonic and adult stem cell research at the University of New Mexico's Health Sciences Center.

Dr. Richard Larson, senior associate dean for research in the School of Medicine, said it is illegal to perform embryonic stem cell research with federal money or in a federally funded building.

The legislation Richardson supports would provide state funding for embryonic and adult stem cell research and a research facility, he said.

The proposed legislation includes $4 million to recruit nationally recognized scientists and researchers, $4 million to establish research facilities and $2 million to establish a research program, Larson said.

Stem cell research could help people suffering from life-threatening diseases, including cancer, paralysis, diabetes, Parkinson's disease and mental disorders, he said.

Larson said the majority of research would be done to address problems in New Mexico.

"We would try to focus our research into the areas of diabetes, cancer and brain and behavioral illnesses because those are the diseases that affect New Mexicans," he said.

Embryonic stem cell research has more promise than adult stem cells because the embryonic cells can work with any organ, Larson said. Research done with adult stem cells is limited because the cells can only help the organ they were extracted from, he said.

"The embryonic stem cell work has much greater potential for addressing a variety of different diseases," he said. "For instance, if you take stem cells from a liver, you can only address liver disease."

Matt Martinez, president of Justice For All's student chapter at UNM, said embryonic stem cell research is wrong because the stem cells are harvested from aborted fetuses.

Larson said embryonic stem cell lines already exist and are available for research.

"There's nothing in this proposal that has any implications to abortion. They (stem cell lines) currently exist. You can create new ones from a variety of sources," he said. "A cell line is a cell that's been taken from the body, and through a variety of laboratory techniques, it will grow in a tissue-culture dish in a lab incubator forever."

Martinez said the way scientists get embryonic stem cell lines other than from aborted fetuses is by cloning. He said cloning is wrong, because by law, the clones have to be killed.

"You can clone a human being. It's illegal to let it live or go through pregnancy," he said. "You're still creating a member of the human community and destroying it."

Larson said the research is meant to cure or treat diseases that have baffled scientists.

"It's always important to remember that stem cell research is about helping people whose lives are impacted by catastrophic illness every day," he said. "Stem cells can be used to repair organs or injuries that have not been previously repairable, such as spinal cord injuries."

Student Whisper Carpenter-Kish said there are more relevant issues to worry about than stem cell research.

"I kind of have mixed feelings about that," she said. "There's so many things we need to address beyond that."

Carpenter-Kish said science can be valuable, but it can also be dangerous.

"Usually, it's not the science. It's the agenda behind it," she said. "They say it's grounded in morals and ethics, but it's based in agendas and politics."

(C) 2006 Daily Lobo via U-WIRE