BYLINE: By Alejandra Cancino, Independent Florida Alligator; SOURCE: U. Florida

LENGTH: 549 words

DATELINE: GAINESVILLE, Fla

June 2, 2005 Thursday

The stem-cell debate continues in Washington, with the U.S. House of Representatives passing a bill last month to allow federal funding for embryonic research and President Bush standing firm on his promise to veto any such bill that crosses his desk.

But University of Florida professors say their research would not be affected either way.

“I feel that it is important to do some research with human embryonic stem cells, but they are far behind the research that we have done on adult stem cells,” said Edward Scott, director of UF’s Program in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.

The only embryonic stem cells researchers at UF study come from mice, Scott said.

The focus of regenerative research at UF is on adult stem cells, with hopes to find cures to diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, he said.

Stem cells are unspecialized cells that can replicate many times over and become another type of cell with a specialized function like a muscle cell or brain cell.

And unlike stem cells, most of the cells in the human body have specific functions and do not have the ability to replicate.

For example, the specific functions of a cell in the heart muscle would be to work with neighboring cells to pump blood through the body.

Advocates of embryonic research say because human embryonic stem cells are formed early on in human development, they have a greater potential than adult stem cells to grow into any cell or tissue of the body.

Some scientists believe that, because of this potential, embryonic stem cells could be the key to discovering ways to treat diseases such as Alzheimer’s or diabetes.

However, because embryos are destroyed when the cells are extracted, President Bush opposes the use of “taxpayer money to promote research that takes life,” according to a White House press release.

The president supports the use of adult stem cells, like those UF researchers study, which can be found in the brain, bone marrow and blood, including umbilical cord blood, according to the White House report.

But proponents of embryonic stem cell research disagree with the president’s stand.

According to online information from the National Institutes of Health, the human embryonic stem cells used for research come from eggs that have been fertilized in a laboratory and have been willingly donated to science.

Scott said he doubts UF will do research with human embryonic stem cells in the future because they are unpredictable.

“Embryonic stem cells are more like children,” he said. “They tend to behave poorly, and it’s hard to get them to do what you want.”

Unlike stem cells from embryos, if adult stem cells are used in the proper way, scientists could get them to do extraordinary things, he said.

UF’s program, which was made official in 2002, receives federal funding along with grants from the National Institutes of Health and private organizations.

Dennis A. Steindler, executive director of the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute and member of the program, highlighted the importance of stem-cell research.

“Research in regenerative medicine is more than the controversy [over the use of embryonic stem cells],” Steindler said. “The research is about the possibility to cure many types of diseases.”