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Private funding allows more stem cell research at Harvard
By Bill Cross
bcross@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
A Harvard University research group has found a way around the Bush administration's policy on stem cell research.
The research group used private donations to create new stem cell lines. The sole use of such donations instead of federal funds is unusual.
Douglas Melton, Harvard biologist, created 17 new stem cell lines last week.
Current policy forbids the creation of new stem cell lines using federal money, which virtually all research labs use. These labs are
allowed to use stem cell lines created before August 9, 2001. Jonathan Li, director of etiology and prevention of hormonal cancers at the University of Kansas Medical Center, said only 16 federally allowed stem cell lines were viable for research.
Each new line Melton created had characteristics that distinguished it from other stem cells. For example, a pancreatic stem cell line can only be used to replace pancreas cells. Each cell in a line comes from the same embryo and has the same DNA.
Private grants from Harvard, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation funded
Cowan, a Wichita native, said that the stem cells created at Harvard were, in many ways, superior to the other stem cell lines available. For example, he said that their potential uses were clearly defined.
Melton's research, said Chad Cowan, postdoctoral fellow in Melton's lab.
defined.
"The lines previously available are not well characterized or easily grown, and most importantly, they are difficult to obtain," Cowan said. He said research groups sometimes paid more than $5,000 for access to a stem cell line.
Cowan said that the new lines would be available to other researchers for free as long as they
Cowan said that he did not anticipate any backlash from the government.
did not illegally use federal funds to work on them.
"The administration has already laid out very clear guidelines as to how they view and support embryonic stem cell research. We carefully adhered to these rules." he said.
Li, who studies the effects of stem cells on breast cancer development, said there was not enough variety in the available stem cell lines, which put a glass ceiling on research.
"These embryonic stem cells are more useful than the adult stem cells I work with," Li said.
Ron McKay, researcher for the National Institute of Health, told The New York Times that the current stem cells were sufficient for his research, but he anticipated that he would eventually need to use the new lines.
"It will become obvious that there are cell lines out there that have therapeutic value, and it will be morally impossible to support the case that you shouldn't be using them," McKay said Thursday in the article "Bush Policy on Human Stem Cells Faces New Challenges."
Despite McKay's prediction, some KU students are adamantly opposed to the direction stem cell research has taken. Danielle
Schneider, Topeka sophomore, said embryonic stem cell research was immoral.
"It justifies abortion for some people," she said.
Katherine Lawler, Overland Park junior, said that she had the opposite viewpoint.
"There's enough babies, we should worry about fixing the babies that are already made," she said.
James Battey, chairman of the National Institutes of Health panel on stem cells, said the agency would consider allowing new stem cell lines if and when they proved viable and vital to research.
— Edited by Collin LaJoie
Iraqi constitution spawns opposition
The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's interim constitution faces powerful critics: two influential ayatolahs, the leader of a Shiite party and other Iraqis who dismiss it as the work of the United States and its Iraqi allies.
The criticism places Iraq at a crossroads — whether to allow seditarian politics to prevail and put the nation's unity at risk, or close ranks and continue toward democratic rule.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, the most influential cleric for Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, initiated the latest political wrangling. His objections to the intercharm caused his supporters on the 25-seat Governing Council to refuse to sign it as scheduled March 5.
Citing a pressing need to safeguard national unity and push forward the political process, they signed Monday, but made clear they wish to change parts of the document.
Many Iraqis appear divided on the constitution, which for the first time guarantees freedom and human rights. Some have celebrated its adoption, some rejected it and some said they didn't know its contents.
In a fatwa, or religious edict, issued Monday, al-Sistani said
the interim charter would only gain legitimacy if adopted by an elected body. He described the document as "obstacle" to Iraq's permanent constitution, which will be drafted by a parliament elected by Jan. 31, 2005, and put to a referendum later in the year.
In an unusually blunt statement Ayatollah al-Moadaresi, who lives in the holy city of Karbala, said clauses pertaining to federalism in the charter were "a time bomb that will lead to a civil war in Iraq." Referring to the 14-year-old self-rule enjoyed by Kurds in three northern provinces, he said: "This federalism will end up breaking up Iraq and lead to a civil war."
Al-Hakim, a Governing Council member and leader of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, said Iraqi society was cohesive enough to prevent civil war, but added: "Our main problem lies with the imposition of restrictions set by an unelected body on an elected body."
Like fellow Shiite politicians, al-Hakim tried to allay fears that Shiites wanted to use their newfound powers to dominate Iraq after decades of oppression at the hands of the Sunni Arab minority. He and other Shiites on the council, he said, would try to reach a consensus on amending the clauses in question.
INJURED: Faculty miss having good colleague around' office
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14
Success office, Morrell's responsibilities have been divided between associate vice provost Kathryn Nemeth Tuttle and dean of students Richard Johnson
Marlesa Roney, vice provost for student success, said everyone in the department has stepped up a little bit.
"The hardest part is not having a good colleague around," Roney said.
Roney said any time a high-level position was unfilled, it presented a challenge.
Lisa Pinamonti, director of admissions, said that she was in contact with Morrell at least once a week.
been e-mailing, calling and doing what they can to help, even offering rides to Morrell when his family has been unable to drive him somewhere.
Morrell said he hoped to return to work at the beginning of May. In the meantime, the directors under Morrell have
"I think it is beneficial for both of us to communicate so he knows what's going on when he returns," Pinamonti said.
But after a near-death experience, each day of living has been brighter.
Morrell is on the road to recovery, taking it one day at a time. Some days are better than others, he said.
— Edited by Stephanie Lovett
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
EDUCATION: Students will have to find alternatives
University. Transferring there is not an option for her. She already struggles with the daily hour and 15 minute drive she makes from Louisburg.
"I started to get my hopes up because I was no longer an undecided undergrad," Mills said. "Now it's like we're back at square one."
To Mills, the news might mean she'll have to start over academically.
For some of these students, leaving the University would
mean making sacrifices.
As a student athlete, Sonda Rauterkus would have to quit her sport if she left to pursue a physical education degree. If she stays, she must pick a major that she is not interested in.
"They should have have told us this earlier." Rauterkus, junior from Harlan, Iowa, said. "I am supposed to enroll soon and I have no idea what to do."
Rauterkus found out about the announcement through rumors that were circulating in her classes.
Mills also heard these rumors
before the announcement was made. She said she lost her confidence in the University because of the way it made its decision.
"It's made me feel like I can't trust the people who are representing the University of Kansas for the School of Education to back us up."
The University will not lose any of the program's teachers because of the decision, Lumpkin said. The University did not eliminate its masters and doctoral programs in physical education.
The school's advisers are work
ing with the affected students to help them decide where to go from here.
Lumpkin said that many of these students were expected to move to other teaching or education programs in the school.
The Health and Physical education program is the smallest of the six programs in health, sport and sciences department.
Over the past decade, enrollment for the physical education program has declined 80 percent, according to the Office of Institutional Research and Planning.
FAITH: Making sacrifices difficult, necessary
Edited by Kevin Flaherty
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
The Eastern Orthodox church split from Roman Catholicism starting in 1054 because of political and theological differences.
logical discipline. Valton said her faith combines basic Christian principles with both a near and far-eastern bent.
meat and dairy products.
While giving up partying has been hard because the people she hangs out with drink a lot, Valton said, her dietary sacrifices haven't been that hard to keep. Valton lives in a vegan household, which means her housemates don't cook using
This year she's giving up partying, meat and dairy products.
any animal products.
Huber said his sacrifices were easier to maintain because his friends at the Catholic center helped to support each other.
The road for these sacrifices is not always perfect.
Valton said she slipped up once or twice, briefly, but she always got back on and continued.
For Norris and his congregation, the season of Lent has a simple meaning.
peaking.
"It's a time for going outside our comfort zone and giving up something we rely on," Norris said.
They give up what they rely on in this world, Norris said, so they can rely on what they believe comes in the next much more fully.
— Edited by Robert Perkins
LANDMARK: Conference offers valuable knowledge for students
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Knorr said Monday's event, called Stories of Struggle and Triumph: Brown v. Board Plaintiffs and the Kansas Defense, would be historical in and of itself because it was unlikely that the group of individuals would come together again after the conference.
The conference is not just for academics, Dandridge said, but for all people who want to participate with each other and interact with the speakers to make a positive impact in the future.
"This information will enable people to take action to improve on human relations in the local community," Dandridge said.
Students can still pick up free tickets for day events said Knorr.
The deadline for purchasing tickets is today. Single-day tickets are $15 and four-day tickets are $45, but Knorr said students should have no problems attending the free events during the day. Tickets for each event can be
Knorr said students could also purchase lunch tickets, dinner tickets, one-day or four-day tickets by registering online at www.kuce.org/programs/bbec.
CONFERENCE EVENTS
Sponsored by the University of Kansas Libraries and University of Kansas Continuing Education Sunday, Lawrence High School Auditorium, 1901 Louisiana St. Our Nation's Diverse Musical Heritage, Rust College A Cappella Choir, 3 p.m.
The Significance of Brown v. Board to Today's Society with Tony Brown, 4:15 p.m.
Monday, Level 5 of Kansas Union Education, Diversity and Affirmative Action with Chancellor Robert Hemenway and Walter Broadnax, 2:40 p.m., Woodruff Auditorium
Stories of Struggle and Triumph: Brown v. Board Plaintiffs and the Kansas Defense, 4 p.m., Woodruff Auditorium
The Legacies of Race and Law in the United States with Lani Guinier
7:30 p.m., Woodruff Auditorium
Tuesday, Levels 4 and 5 of Kansas Union
picked up on the day of the event on the fifth floor of the Kansas Union.
Race, Ethnicity, and U.S. Public Education with Ray Hiner, John H. Jackson and Cornel Pewewardy, 8:30 a.m., Woodruff Auditorium Primary and Secondary School Resources for Teaching Brown v. Board with William Guillermo Luna, Janet Sims-Wood, La Tonya Miller and Alonzo Smith, 9:45 a.m., Alderson Auditorium
Adelson Auditorium Proposals and Technical Assistance for Achieving Equity in Public Schools with John H. Jackson and Charles Rankin, 9:45 a.m., Big 12 Room
Images of Race and Ethnicity in Film with Madison Lacy and Kevin Willmott, 9:45 a.m., Woodruff Auditorium
Practices and Policies of "Whiteness" with Kevin Fox Gotham and Norman Yetman, 11 a.m., Woodruff Auditorium
Race and Today's Media with Karen Bates, 1:15 p.m., Woodruff Auditorium
Isolated by Law and Language:
Latinos in the U.S. with Norma
Cantu, 1:15 p.m., Alderson
Auditorium
Knorr said all the night events were full, and people with prepaid tickets would be put on a
Discussion: The Latin Pursuit of Excellence and Equity in U.S. Public Schools, Before and After Mendez (1946) with Norma Cantu and William Guillermo Luna, 2:30 p.m., Woodruff Auditorium
Race and U.S. Foreign Policy with Mary Dudziak, 3:45 p.m., Alderson Auditorium
CARE, Recognizing the Culture,
Abilities, Resilience and Efforts of
Culturally Diverse Students with
Linda Cabral, 3:45 p.m., Woodruff
Auditorium
The Economics of Brown v.
Board with Julianne Malveaux, 7:30
p.m., Woodruff Auditorium
Wednesday, Level 5 of Kansas Union
Brown v. Board Origins and Legacies with Theodore M. Shaw, 9 a.m., Woodruff Auditorium
Race, Public Education, and Public Policy with Gary Orfield and John H. Jackson, 10:30 a.m., Woodruff Auditorium
Source:
www.kuce.org/programs/bbec
waiting list
— Edited by Paul Kramer
Serving