Stem Cell Research Team-up – Vatican and UMd Partnership
The University of Maryland School of Medicine is glad for the Vatican’s support for stem cell research. Catholic Church officials said the Vatican has faith in science to help people.
UMd. Details Stem Cell Partnership With Vatican
The Vatican threw its support behind an international adult stem cell research project lead by the university last Friday, and an agreement was signed in Rome. School officials are celebrating the new partnership with optimism that the specialized research will lead to significant health benefits.
The Catholic Church said it encourages adult stem cell research over embryonic because that involves destroying embryos, which the church considers to be nascent human beings.
The project will investigate the use of intestinal adult stem cells for treating diseases. Intestinal stem cells are easily harvested through a routine endoscopy so they could come from the patient themselves and not have to be stored, researchers said.
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