Hollywood sees Obama stem cell move as bipartisan blockbuster

President Obama's decision to expand the federal government's role in stem cell research business may be controversial in some quarters, but don't expect anything but a standing ovation from the friendly folks in Hollywood.

“For those of us who've worked in this area, this is an extraordinarily happy day,” former Paramount head Sherry Lansing said of Obama’s decision to lift the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. “I've gotten tons of calls. This will lead to huge advances in fighting diseases like cancer and diabetes."

“Obama," Lansing added, "has done everything he said he would do. It’s thrilling.”

Hospitals and medical research are the industry's equivalent of bipartisanship, and stem cell research has become, in many ways, the cause of the hour. In part, that's because it seems to offer hope as a way to produce new treatments that touch prominent film and television families personally:

Spinal injuries (Christopher Reeve); Parkinson's (Michael J. Fox) and juvenile diabetes (Jerry and Janet Zucker and Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher).

Hollywood agents, producers and studio executives may gleefully undercut each other Monday through Friday. But on Saturday night, they'll all turn up and give generously to a program to combat disease or to a cutting-edge hospital, so to speak.

The industry's tradition of supporting medical causes dates back to the days when purely political giving was poison for stars locked into the studio system and moguls protective of their studio brands. Nobody, however, could criticize anybody for giving to relieve suffering.

The Zuckers and friends Fisher and Wick began organizing the entertainment industry five years ago, when both families discovered their children had diabetes. Since then, Hollywood’s stem cell research advocates have only become more powerful. (Just ask any federal candidate who comes to town looking for a political kind of fundraising.)

Obama promised the group he would take action, if elected, to lift the ban. In preparation for his announcement Monday, his staff invited Lansing, the Zuckers, Fisher and Wick to attend the news conference.

Jerry Zucker said he and his wife declined the invitation because of their production schedule on "Fair Game," the movie about Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame. (Remember, she's the undercover CIA agent that no one could identify. So keep it just between us.)

The movie features Sean Penn and Naomi Watts, but that's not a secret; you can talk about it.

The Zuckers did watch the announcement on TV. “Government -- and, particularly, science -- needs to be conducted with reason, not ideology,” said Jerry Zucker. “This was a return to reason.”

-- Tina Daunt

Speaking of funds, you don't need any to register here for Twitter alerts on all new Ticket items.

Photo: SherryLansingFoundation.org

Comments

[William]

Adult vs. embronic stem cells. Why are these articles always so lacking? Adult stem cells have actually worked healing people, but no one in the popular press talks about them. Embronic stem cells have never healed anyone, but everyone wants to rush into investing in this - and ignore the ethical issues of killing tiny new lives as a result. Science, yes; but science is overwhelmingly on the side of adult stem cells; so why do we never hear about them, except in footnotes if we're lucky? Did anyone ever hear of ethical limits to scientific experimentation, or shall we encourage what the nazis did? Why do we actually prefer the ethically wrong, dispensing of little lives?

[R.I.P. GOP 2008]

Stem cell funding is only one of hundreds if not thousands of botched policies inflicted on us by the previous Republican administration which we now must rectify.

[Mallison]

As a believer that life begins at conception, I believe that the method for collecting embryonic stem cells destroys human life. I also realize that by having this belief, the counter argument is quickly raised: if you care so much about human life, what about the lives of the sick and dying who could be cured by embryonic stem cell research? Unfortunately, this is a very misguided question. Not only does it pit the life of an embryo against an ill person’s life, far too often the promise of embryonic stem cell research is overstated and its inherent problems are unduly minimized. Embryonic stem cells are not the only kind of stem cells. There are other kinds, and they are collected in such a way that does not destroy human life. Consequently, a distinction must be made between embryonic stem cell research and its alternatives.

A person who believes that life begins at conception does not have to—indeed, should not—oppose stem cell research. That person can, however, insist that it is done in a way that protects human life and does not take one life in the hope of saving another. Those who are ill and hoping for a cure do not have to choose between losing hope and taking life. Opponents of embryonic stem cell research should never be accused of criminalizing cures and hope. In fact, the truly blamable are those who push embryonic stem cell research at any cost; though they could promote research that is equally effective while preserving human life, they insist on doing otherwise. Examples include cord-blood stem cells from the baby and amniotic fluid stem cells that have the same promise as embryonic stem cells.

Although stem cell research is an often controversial, convoluted, and politically and emotionally driven issue, its solution is straightforward: in the interest of preserving all varieties of human life, embryonic stem cell research should be abandoned, and all the resources that have been expended to advocate it in the scientific, political, and public arenas should be applied instead to researching cures for diseases using the several equally promising alternatives to embryonic stem cells.

[steve rodriguez]

What does Hollywood know? and who cares what Hollywood thinks?

[Ken]

Hi,

Facing the dilemma of how to properly inform people what adult stem cells
are seems somewhat daunting, considering 90% of the population either
don't know or have been largely misinformed. This is not too surprising as stem cell
treatment is fairly new to the world at large. Obama has approved research into embryonic
stem cell research, but what about adult stem cells quite a different story. let me tell you why.

First let's start with the words

Stem = To come from
Cell = The building block of the body

Simply put Stem Cells are therefore - where all cells, that make up a body, come from.

Each Cell in Your Body came from a STEM CELL. A stem cell grew
into the kind of cell you needed for that part of the body.

Also any damaged cell needs stem cells to repair it.

This would lead one to believe we must be generating them
within the body someplace.

YES!

That is correct.

Millions of stem cells are being made in your bone marrow every single day.
This is the big news that scientists have now
discovered. These new stem cells are released into your blood stream and
migrate to areas of the body that require repair. This is how you fix a
broken leg or a cut hand overcome an illness etc. They are called adult stem cells
as they are NOT from an unborn child, but within an adult body.
(In stem cell jargon: an adult stem cell
is one produced from the time you are born onwards).
In fact there is no need to use other than your own
adult stem cells as each one of us has the ability to produce millions and
millions of them.

Nature made it that way.

Each and every adult makes their own. In fact right now you are making
many many stem cells as you read this - right in your bone marrow.

But...

What if you had kidney or heart tissue damage, or for that matter any
body tissue damage, such as brain, liver, eye you name it.
Any repair to take place of these tissues requires an adequate supply of
stem cells to do the job. That is the key word "adequate".

This is why a child growing up has a tremendous amount of stem cells
circulating their body - because they are growing tissue at a rapid rate.

What happens when you get older?

Well this stem cell-producing system becomes sluggish and repair
become less possible and you don't heal so well. You eventually rundown and get old.

If you could boost the number of stem cells circulating in your system
could you overcome degenerating illnesses as well as effects of other wear and tear
and aging?

Scientists are finding this exactly to be the case. In fact it seems that
a week doesn't go by where one does not hear of a new breakthrough in
stem cell treatment. This is not surprising. You hear of regenerating pancreatic tissue,
as well as heart tissue, of bones healing much faster and a boost in energy
from increasing ones own stem cells. People are even looking and feeling younger.
The list goes on.

A leading doctor in Stem Cell Research - Dr. David Steenblock - has found a way to
stimulate the release of one's own stem cells with a natural supplement called STEMGEVITY.

You can find out more on his website www.stemthrive.com and see his three-part famous video.

This is good news for anyone concerned about their health or the health of
a loved one.

I hope you find this informative.

Good luck and please let us know of your success with STEMGEVITY.

God Bless,

Ken