I often reference StemCellResearch.org's list of ASC-versus-ESC treatments, which indicates that Adult Stem Cells (ASCs) have yielded 65 treatments while Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs) have yielded none. This list was last updated July 19, 2005, and appears to be outdated.
According to CorCell, those numbers are now 80 ASC treatments, and still 0 ESC treatments.
If I ever get a spare month or three, I'm going to start looking into the pipeline. (Michael Fumento reports that ASCs have some 1,000 clinical trials in process.) Since the hype about ESCs involves so-called "potential", I want to compare them to ASCs with respect to real potential. I've not seen a comprehensive list.
Via Michael Fumento.
Consistent with the Clone the Truth campaign, I am committed to ensuring that the truth about adult and embryonic stem cell and related research is made known.
I’m not “up” on the various issues here, so I may be way off base, but …
It seems to me that perhaps at least a part of the reason for the disparity between ASC and ESC research is the restrictions placed on such research. Restrictions from govermnent agencies, as well as popular opinion.
It seems circular to me to say, in essence:
1. We’ll make it really hard to do research on “A” but not “B”
2. “B” produces some good results.
3. See, we were right to prevent you from doing “A” because “B” is so much better anyway.
As I said – I’m quite willing to admit that I be missing something fundamental here. It’s just that this is what it sounds like to me.
But, ESC research has in *no way* been restricted. Both ASC and ESC research began decades ago, and neither has been restricted.
ESC research has (at least) two major problems to overcome:
1) Getting enough ESCs on which to perform research. Currently, the prevailing method – SCNT – is horribly inefficient (would take HUNDREDS of enucleated human eggs to get even ONE ESC line), and has never yet been proven to work with human somatic/germ cells.
2) Getting the ESCs to behave in a safe and efficacious manner. Right now, the pluripotency…
BBL – will finish my thought!
Okay, back to what I was saying:
2) Getting the ESCs to behave in a safe and efficacious manner. Right now, the pluripotency seems to be a big part of the problem; researchers can’t make the ESCs behave.
The result? Cancerous growths, unexpected results, etc.
Let me also add – ASCs are being shown to have the potential to be reverted to a pluripotent state. Once that happens, the question of pursuing ESCs should be completely moot, from a purely scientific and unbiased point of view.
But, ESC research is all about the money, when you get right down to it.