Reply
Sat 19 Jun, 2010 05:51 am
Context:
Important stem cell lines could be denied funding
18 June 2010
Magazine issue 2765. Subscribe and save
For similar stories, visit the US national issues and Stem Cells Topic Guides
NUMEROUS lines of human embryonic stem cells carrying mutations responsible for conditions such as cystic fibrosis and Huntington's disease are set to be denied US government funding, because of a problem in donor consent forms.
Stem cell lines carrying mutations for cystic fibrosis could be denied US government funding
The 42 lines were created by a team led by Yury Verlinksy of the Reproductive Genetics Institute (RGI) in Chicago. Verlinsky, who died in 2009, was a pioneer of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis: screening IVF embryos for genetic mutations. Some couples also donated embryos carrying the mutations, allowing Verlinsky's team to extract stem cells for research.
RGI submitted its lines for clearance to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) in October 2009. But last week, an advisory committee to NIH director Francis Collins recommended that the lines be excluded from federal funding.
The problem is a single sentence in the consent forms, which waives any rights to sue for negligence or harm arising from the donation. As New Scientist went to press, Collins had yet to make a final decision, but he seems to have little room for manoeuvre as such waivers are forbidden under US government rules.
The lines are very valuable, says Alan Trounson of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine in San Francisco.
No. In this case, a line of stem cells refers to stem cells which have been cultured to produce new stem cells. It is not that dissimilar to the action in a laboratory in which a bacterium is cultured to produce more of the bacteria, so that they can be studied. Stem cells can be cultured to produce more stems cells with the same genetic make-up. The article refers to these cultured stem cells, and the continuing production of stem cells from the same original source is called a line.
@Setanta,
Thank you.
In "Stem cell lines carrying mutations
for cystic fibrosis could be denied US government funding ", what does "for" mean? "For supporting"? "For killing"?
No, in this case "for" means that the genetic material in the cells has mutated and will now cause those disease conditions if a part of an embryo.
That may not have been an entirely comprehensible answer. "For" in that locution does not mean in favor of, it is simply being used as a conjunction.
@Setanta,
Thank you Set.
What is "single sentence"? I think a sentence was made by a court, but why the author said "US government rules" forbad that?
Context:
The problem is a
single sentence in the consent forms, which
waives any rights to sue for negligence or harm arising from the donation. As New Scientist went to press, Collins had yet to make a final decision, but he seems to have little room for manoeuvre as such
waivers are forbidden under US government
rules.
@oristarA,
Sentence in this case doesn't refer to judgment, it is simply being used to refer to a linguistic structure, a coherent (one hopes) grouping of words. I think you are making this needlessly difficult.
What it means is that there was a sentence in the consent form which required the person signing to give up the right to sue for negligence. The United States government's rules forbid the use of any such waiver in a consent form. That's all that paragraph means.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace