MY STEMS

[MinnieM]

A couple of interesting pieces of history.

Letter to President Bush (2001) It’s a shame that President Bush ignored it.

Letter to President-Elect Obama (November 2009) To his credit, President Obama acted on it. His actions in this arena may end up bringing the cost of health care down while simultaneously improving it with new cures.


Here's letter to Obama:

To the Honorable Barack H. Obama, President-Elect of the
United States

Ten years ago the discovery of human embryonic stem cells
touched off one of the most controversial and yet promising
technologies of our generation. These cells likely possess the
capacity to differentiate into all of the cell types of the human body.
They offer possibilities to produce new lifesaving therapies by
supplying heart muscle cells, dopaminergic neurons, and pancreatic
cells that could be used to rebuild the heart after a heart attack, the
brain of a patient with Parkinson’s disease, or glucose regulation in
children with diabetes. The landscape of diseases and medical
research problems potentially benefiting from this research is broad
and significant. However, for the last 10 years research in this field
has been slowed by restrictive federal funding policies and
consequent reservations in the private sector about committing
investment dollars in a field where the United States has no clear
policy.

In the coming decade our nation is facing significant economic
and social challenges, not the least of which are strains on our health
care system arising from the mounting health care costs associated
with the aging of the post WWII baby boom generation. As reported
by analysts associated with the stem cell initiative in California
(http://www.cirm.ca.gov/pub/pdf/EcoEval_091008_rpt.pdf) research
monies spent now to address novel and powerful new therapeutic
modalities such as those arising from stem cell research have
numerous potential economic benefits for the United States, leading
to advances in our understanding of not only methods of fashioning
valuable new therapies from stem cells but also deep insights into
cancer stem cells, developmental disorders, and the networks that
regulate gene expression.

While we recognize that legitimate ethical issues have been
raised by this research, it is important to understand that novel
technologies show the potential to produce “induced pluripotent stem
(iPS) cells” wherein no embryos or egg cells are utilized. In addition,
the majority of US citizens support hES cell research where the
embryos were destined to be discarded. Lastly, for the past 40 years
many of the common human virus vaccines including those directed
to measles, rubella, hepatitis A, rabies and poliovirus have been
derived from cells derived from human aborted fetal tissue, and these
vaccines have provided benefit to tens of millions of people. Thus,
there is a clear path to advancing the field of regenerative medicine in
a manner consistent with the values of the majority of Americans.

In 1961 President Kennedy displayed the vision of his
generation by focusing the financial resources of the United States
toward landing a man on the moon within a decade. A similar
visionary program in our time should be a 10-year program involving
academia and industry with a goal to translate the discovery of
human embryonic stem cells into actual safe and efficacious
therapies to save human life. We encourage you to make this a
priority for your administration. We could clearly demonstrate the
humanitarian spirit of our country by leading the world in applying the
best of mankind’s technologies in the alleviation of human suffering
including the millions of American patients who so desperately need
them.

Yours respectfully,

Kenneth J. Arrow*
Stanford University
Nobel Laureate, Economics, 1972

Baruj Benacerraf*
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Nobel Laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 1980

Robert N. Butler+
International Longevity Center
Founding Director, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health

Mario R. Capecchi*
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine
Nobel Laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 2007

Elias James Corey*
Harvard University
Nobel Laureate, Chemistry, 1990

Edmond H. Fischer*
University of Washington
Nobel Laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 1992

Robert W. Fogel*
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Nobel Laureate, Economics, 1993

Corey Goodman+
Member National Academy of Sciences

Ronald M. Green+
Ethics Institute, Dartmouth College

Roger Guillemin*
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Nobel Laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 1977

Herbert A. Hauptman*
Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, SUNY at Buffalo
Nobel Laureate, Chemistry, 1985

Leonard Hayflick+
University of California, San Francisco

James J. Heckman*
University of Chicago
Nobel Laureate, Economics, 2000

Dudley R. Herschbach*
Harvard University
Nobel Laureate, Chemistry, 1986

William Lipscomb*
Harvard University
Nobel Laureate, Chemistry, 1976

Marshall W. Nirenberg*
National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health
Nobel Laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 1968

Eric S. Maskin*
Institute for Advanced Study
Nobel Laureate, Economics, 2007

George A. Olah*
University of Southern California
Nobel Laureate, Chemistry, 1994

Richard J. Roberts*
New England Biolabs
Nobel Laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 1993

Richard R. Schrock*
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Nobel Laureate, Chemistry, 2005

Phillip A. Sharp*
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Nobel Laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 1993

Hamilton O. Smith*
J. Craig Venter Institute
Noble Laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 1978

Robert M. Solow*
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Nobel Laureate, Economics, 1987

James D. Watson*
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Nobel Laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 1962

Michael D. West+
BioTime, Inc.

Robert W. Wilson*
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Nobel Laureate, Physics, 1978

+ Corresponding Author
* Nobel Laureate