Reprogramming, not embryos, is the fast track to cures

An extremely significant medical breakthrough, reported many places, including the New York Times:

Biologists at Harvard have converted cells from a mouse’s pancreas into the insulin-producing cells that are destroyed in diabetes, suggesting that the natural barriers between the body’s cell types may not be as immutable as supposed.

"Money" second paragraph quote:

This and other recent experiments raise the possibility that a patient’s healthy cells might be transformed into the type lost to a disease far more simply and cheaply than in the cumbersome proposals involving stem cells.

Pause. When was the last time you can remember a mainstream article admitting that stem cell proposals are "cumbersome"? I thought they were the be-all & end-all of medical technology? And embryonic stem cell treatments are often even more cumbersome than adult stem cell therapies.

I'm not trying to make an argument against embryonic stem cell research because they are "cumbersome", sometimes cumbersome solutions are the only ones available. No, I'm saying that, pragmatically, it makes more sense to pursue reprogramming techniques like the one described above.

And no embryos have to die.

Another day, another cure from ADULT stem cell research

Monotonous, ain't it?

The abortion-rights arguments that cite embryonic stem cells as the potential solution for a vast array of human diseases has taken another significant hit with an announcement from a San Francisco research and development company that it has defined and isolated an adult cell that has been shown to develop into tissues matching those in the heart, lung, liver, pancreas, blood vessels, brain, muscle, bone and fat. (WND)

But don't worry, we still have to destroy human life if we want to get anything accomplished - or so some keep telling us .... (update: meanwhile, embryonic stem cell research continues to result in more complications).

And yet we're the ones labled "anti-science."

How can you assist promoting ethical stem cell research?

I was recently at a Theology on Tap event treating the topic of embryonic vs. adult stem cell research. After the presentation, a person asked what they could do to help promote ethical means of harvesting stem cells for therapy and research. While some practical ideas were mentioned, here's a very concrete and immediate way to help this important cause:

David of C-S-L explains:

Bill Schneeberger is the owner of BOGO wines, a winery that contributes from its proceeds to great Catholic, pro-life organizations. He has developed a plan modeled after that of Susan Komen of the “pink ribbon” campaign. The focus of his plan is to generate awareness, interest, and funding for ethical stem cell research (adult, cord, autologous, etc).

More information - including a youtube video, links, etc. @ C-S-L.