Human Adult And Embryonic Stem Cell Research Is Complementary

Human Adult And Embryonic Stem Cell Research Is Complementary, According To Social Scientists: Researchers analyzed more than 2,000 scientific papers and found adult stem cells are not replacing human embryonic stems cells in the laboratory. Instead, the two cell types have proven to be complementary and any disruption of federal funding, they say, would negatively impact stem cell research overall.

Commentary from FRC's David Prentice:

National Science Foundation's Appalling Stem Cell Ignorance

Urges Foundation to Issue Retraction, Offer Full Correction

Family Research Council (FRC) today criticized the National Science Foundation (NSF) for displaying appalling ignorance about stem cells. In touting NSF funding of a publication about stem cell comparisons, NSF put out a press release titled "Social scientists study impact of human adult stem cell research." But the paper NSF references, and which the science agency funded, does not discuss adult stem cells at all.

The paper promoted by NSF, published in the journal Cell, compares embryonic stem (ES) cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. iPS cells are embryonic-like stem cells made directly from adult tissues by adding a few genes to normal cells, without using embryos. The iPS cells are not adult stem cells.