Stem cell research community warns against fraudulent clinics

Darkfrog submitted, created time 1 month 3 days (www.nature.com)

Most scientists will tell you that stem cells show enormous potential and that we could see treatments for anything from diabetes to spinal cord injuries entering clinical trials any day now ...but let them know that the clinic down the street is offering "stem cell treatments" right as we speak, and the reaction gets significantly less optimistic.

The International Society for Stem Cell Research--the same organization that came out against stem cell tourism last year--has warned against clinics offering fraudulent, dangerous and unproven treatments

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Gene testing of embryos needs guidance

sea-maid submitted, created time 1 month 2 weeks (www.nature.com)

Couples might soon use the technologies sold by personal-genomics companies to choose the genetic make-up of their children.

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Stem cell researchers face down stem cell tourism

sea-maid submitted, created time 6 months 4 weeks (www.nature.com)

"Stem cell tourism," in which people travel thousands of miles and pay thousands of dollars to receive unregulated care, is nothing new. Now, with more stem cell applications being pushed toward clinical trials, the international research community is stepping up.

Although some of the patients report positive results, the fact that they cannot describe their treatments in detail--or produce verifiable medical records--severely limits the research value (though not the human value) of their cases

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