However, the National Institutes of Health recently published guidelines that would permit funding of embryonic stem cell research provided the funds were not used to kill the embryo. In effect, private researchers would extract the stem cells from surplus fertility clinic embryos and then pass the cells along to federally funded researchers. Some recent studies in mice have shown that adults stem cells are more flexible than previously believed. Blood stem cells, for instance, have been converted into nerve, muscle and bone cells. The Pope and others believe that the promise of this adult stem cell research makes the embryonic stem cell studies unnecessary.
Most researchers disagree.
I feel they will eventually be the most beneficial for patients. Dr. Ronald D.G. McKay, an adult stem cell researcher at NIH, said recent studies in mice show that embryonic stem cells can be converted to nerve or brain cells to treat Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and other central nervous system disorders. In the future, we might be able to get these cells from other places, and we are looking - really looking. It is just too important. The quality of the adult stem cells is not as good as the newborns and we find the number declines over time.