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George Daley -- WJNO Radio interview
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In this radio interview, George Daley, MD, PhD, discusses the various forms of stem cell research and why it's necessary to pursue embryonic stem cell research.
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Listen to the interview...
[4.5 MB mp3]
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Transcript
Host: We're going to talk about stem cells now, and we're being joined now by a world-renknown researcher to discuss treatments for cancer and other diseases. Joining us now is Dr. George Daley, from Children's Hospital in Boston. Dr. Daley, good morning.
Daley: Good morning.
Host: [He's] the associate director of the stem cell program there. What is the state of stem cell research, above and beyond all of the controversy surrounding it? What kind of promises does it offer?
Daley: Well, stem cell research is incredibly exciting. There are thousands of scientists worldwide who are jumping into this field. There's been much hype around the possibility that stem cells could provide replacement therapies for diabetes, Parkinson's and like, but it's also important to remember that this is all basic research at this stage, and this kind of research is going to really lay the foundation for a whole new way of treating disease in the coming years.
Host: What about the controversy surrounding the harvesting of stem cells?
Daley: Well, the most versatile stem cells come from very early human embryos, and there are many in our society who believe that these represent human life. But an increasing number of the American public -- it's now over 70 percent -- realize that a cluster of cells in a petri dish is not the equivalent of a human life, and the value of these cells for research and for treatments, essentially for the future of curing disease, is enough to justify their use.
Host: Was there a recent story -- I'm just doing this from the top of my head -- about amniotic fluid, that stem cells could be harvested out of that?
Daley: Yes -- so it's very important to realize that not all stem cells are the same. Stem cells are really like seeds. You have seeds for apple trees, seeds for orange trees -- they're not the same. The stem cells from amniotic fluid, while very fascinating and very valuable in their own right, are not the equivalent of embryonic stem cells. Scientists want to study all different types of stem cells, because none of us really know which are the ones that are going to be the next breakthrough.
Host: In layman's terms, explain what is done with stem cells and how they can help, say. someone battling cancer.
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Daley: Sure. The role of stem cells in cancer research is extremely exciting. If you think about it, a tumor is represented by a very large number of cells. And when we give chemotherapy, typically those tumors shrink away. The problem is that chemotherapy doesn't hit the stem cells of the tumor, the seeds of the tumor. The seeds seem to be fairly resistant to the chemotherapy. So it would be like chopping down the tree but not getting at the roots. What we need to do is to use stem cell biology to figure out how to target chemotherapy to the roots of the cancer.
Host: I don't think people in general know enough about stem cells -- they know the news stories and the controversies surrounding stem cells, but they really don't what promise they can actually offer.
Daley: There has been so much interest, though, on the part of the public. I think the public has been reading very carefully all of the media accounts -- the media's done an amazing job of focusing attention on the science as well as the promise, and I think slowly but surely the politicians are starting to catch up.
Host: What about the funding for research you do at the Children's Hospital in Boston? Is it enough? Do we need to do more?
Daley: No. We can always use more federal funding for all kinds of biomedical basic research. I mean, it's sort of a sad reality that the entire National Institutes of Health -- the entire healthcare research arm of the government -- is only 28 billion dollars a year. We're spending 8 billion dollars a month in Iraq. With just small changes in priority by the federal government, we could have an enormously better investment in medical research.
Host: Well, I know the people who can benefit from the research that you are doing are certainly for the continuing study of stem cells and what they can do -- stem cell biology. And those on the other side of the issue, who think it's a life issue -- the embryos and that kind of thing -- it's going to be tough to get those two groups together.
Daley: Well, I think the more people look at the issue, including people with very strong beliefs around abortion and around what it is to look at very early human life -- folks like Senator Hatch and Senator Specter and the like -- there are many people on both sides of the political aisle who are looking at this issue and are saying, "it's not costing us human lives, it's aimed at saving lives." And with that, I think over 70 percent of the American public is now solidly behind embryonic stem cell research.
Host: All right, very good. We'll leave it at that. Enjoy your stay here at Palm Beach County.
Daley: Thank you very much.
Host: All right. Dr. George Q. Daley, of the Children's Hospital in Boston -- our guest this morning.
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Listen to the interview
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