Scientists at Harvard University have coaxed pancreas cells in mice to produce insulin without taking the cells out of mice, giving pro-lifers hope that diabetes may one day be cured without embryo-destroying research.
Insulin-producing cells are destroyed in diabetes. The idea of "reprogramming" cells to produce insulin –without destroying embryos – gives those suffering from diabetes hope for an ethical treatment.
Wesley J. Smith, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, said while treatment may be years away, this is another example of how life-destroying embryonic stem-cell research is unnecessary.
"The newest and most hopeful areas of advancement are coming from morally uncontentious areas of biotechnology," he wrote on his blog. "The drive to push human cloning has been staggered."
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