There are two kinds of stem-cell research. The first kind is called embryonic stem-cell research (ESCR). This kind is opposed by pro-lifers because it kills unborn persons by extracting their stem cells for use in medical research. The second kind is called adult stem-cell research (ASCR). This kind is supported by pro-lifers.

You may be surprised to know that ESCR doesn’t work as nearly as well as ASCR.

From the Family Research Council blog. (H/T ECM)

Excerpt:

Italian scientists report that they have restored sight to patients blinded by chemical burns using the patient’s own adult stem cells. The team treated 112 patients blinded in one or both eyes; some of whom had been blind for years. Adult stem cells were taken from the edge of a patient’s eye and cultured on fibrin, then the cell layers transplanted onto the damaged eyes. The adult stem cells produced healthy corneas and functioning eyes. Some patients regained sight within two months, while for others with deeper injuries the process took a year before vision was restored. Patients were followed up to ten years after the transplant. After a single transplant, 69% of patients regained vision; in some cases a second transplant occurred, with a total success in 77% of patients and partial vision restoration in 13% of patients. The long-term restoration was an especially encouraging success of the study.

Still more cures for adult stem cell research… nothing much for embryonic stem cell research.

FRC is rapidly becoming my second favorite think tank. You would expect them to be social conservatives through and through. But these are not naive fundamentalists – they understand how fiscal policy relates to social policy. Anyone who favors increasing government power to solve social problems, (e.g. – universal health care), is not a social conservative. When a secular government runs huge sectors of the private economy, morality goes out the window. Morality is reduced to claiming a “right” to your neighbors money.

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• Round up of articles on adult stem-cell research from FRC
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• Chinese scientists announce stem-cell research breakthrough
• Comparison of ASCR vs ESCR: which one produces real cures?
• Michele Bachmann opposes Obama’s plan to fund ESCR
• Major breakthrough in adult stem-cell research