I received an e-mail earlier today alerting me that Governor Schwarzenegger’s website would live webcast the Governor’s appearance / speaking at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. As most of you will know, the Governor directed California’s Department of Finance to “make up to $150 million in loans to fund” the stem cell research in that state in July 2006.
Stem cell research offers hope of finding a cure to illnesses like Parkinsons, Alzheimers and leukemia. That is why it is so important that California’s Governor is willing to break with the more conservative wing of the Republican Party on this. As the Governor himself pointed out (from the press release:
“Today is a day for great hope. These initial grants are important because we all know that we cannot afford to wait when it comes to advancing potentially life-saving science. This research brings hope for an eventual end to the suffering from chronic disease – such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer or multiple sclerosis – and promise for the people who love someone with one of these terrible illnesses.â€?
As we all know, U.S. President George W. Bush differs with the Governor on this. Certain journalists noted that as well. One journalist asked the Governor about his ‘philosophy of breaking from Washington’. Schwarzenegger’s response: “I’m not really thinking about breaking from anyone… What I’m doing is serving the people…” If one wants to find a cure, he explained, someone must be willing to make first step and; “let us make the first step”.
When asked about why George W. Bush opposes stem cell research, he answered that he’s not willing to explain the motives of other people. That he doesn’t care about that. “I care about what we do”. He explained that California won’t wait for Washington to solve problems like this.
He also said that he hopes that his policies will “rub off against Washington… and the world.”
I have to admit: I’m greatly impressed with how Governor Schwarzenegger has moved (back) to the Center. He is willing to break with Washington, he is willing to break with the conservative ‘base’ of the Republican Party, if he considers it to be best but, while doing so (breaking with them), he never alienates them. He explains his position carefully: in a way like Rudy Giuliani does regarding his socially more liberal views. His answers to the questions about Bush were terrific: don’t talk about what Bush does, talk about what California does.
California is America’s leader in this area (stem cell research).
To read more about stem cell research (and about its potential) go here.
On a related note (edit due to Christin Stanley’s- rightful – comment):
Human nerve stem cells transplanted into rats’ damaged spinal cords have survived, grown and in some cases connected with the rats’ own spinal cord cells in a Johns Hopkins laboratory, overturning the long-held notion that spinal cords won’t allow nerve repair…
A report on the experiments will be published online this week at PLoS Medicine and “establishes a new doctrine for regenerative neuroscience,� says Vassilis Koliatsos, M.D., associate professor of neuropathology at Johns Hopkins. “The spinal cord, a part of the nervous system that is thought of as incapable of repairing itself, can support the development of transplanted cells,� he added.
“We don’t yet know whether the connections we’ve seen can transmit nerve signals to the degree that a rat could be made to walk again,� says Koliatsos, “We’re still in the proof of concept stage, but we’re making progress and we’re encouraged.�
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