Untitled Document Duke News Briefs Keohane signs stem cell letter Duke President Nannerl O. Keohane was one of more than 100 university presidents Monday urging the Bush administration to maintain federal financing of embryonic stem-cell research. The university presidents joined Nobel laureates and some patient-advocacy groups in supporting the controversial field of study. We believe that the stringent guidelines that NIH developed last year provide the appropriate federal oversight and standards that will allow this research to flourish in an ethically rigorous manner.
Stem cells are a special type of cell that have the capacity to develop into any type of cell.
This ability, scientists say, means they could be used to fight several kinds of disease and be used in the repair of damaged tissue. But the research of embryotic stem cells leads to the destruction of the embryo. Because of this, President George W. Bush and others oppose using federal funds for this research. Our faculty members do research in labs, they test hypotheses, just as in other natural sciences departments. We think the new name reflects this, and we thought it important to signal to the Duke community and to students and faculty outside the Duke community about who we are as a department.