Scotland to Open Controversial £2m Stem Cell Factory

A controversial £2m stem cell factory, believed to be the first of its kind in Europe, has been officially opened in Scotland. It has been touted as a hope to find treatments for diseases such as diabetes, leukaemia and Parkinson's.

The Edinburgh-based Roslin Cells Centre will help with the development of medicines by creating human stem cell clusters to be marketed worldwide.

The initiative has been touted as the first step to turning Scotland into a world leader in stem cell technology.

Neil Francis, deputy chief executive at Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian, has said that stem cell research was expected to contribute around £200m to the economy by 2015, by providing greater investment and employment growth.

Francis said, "As well as having huge potential to make significant breakthroughs in the treatment of some of the most debilitating diseases, the stem cell sector has the potential to become one of the key drivers of Scotland's knowledge economy.

"The Roslin Cells Centre is an important step in establishing a strong commercial sector based on Scotland's existing world-class scientific strengths."

Scientists have argued that stem cells have the potential to develop into many different cell types and serve as a type of repair system for the body. However, ethical issues have always been a barrier to the full-scale development of the technology.

Dr Paul De Sousa, who is directing the Scotland project, described goals in stem cell research as similar to the discovery of antibiotics. He said making clinically usable stem cell lines available would provide huge benefits to academics and companies already working in the specialisation. It is believed that embryos would most likely be obtained through the Medical Research Council.

The Catholic Church in Scotland has spoken out against the issue, saying the use of human beings at the embryo stage was unacceptable.

A majority of Christian groups in Europe have joined with human rights protestors in stating that it is a violation of human rights, integrity and dignity.

Catholic Church spokesman Simon Dames has called for research to be focused instead on adult stem cells and cells found in placentas.

In addition, UK charity CARE has raised ethical concerns about the funding of stem cell research and the impact it would have upon 'impressive results' of adult stem cell research.

Christian charity CARE has expressed concern at the Council of Europe decision this summer to continue the funding of stem cell research for the next six years. In particular, the charity was worried that it had been permitted for EU taxpayers' cash to fund embryonic stem cell research where embryos already exist (often from IVF processes).

CARE revealed that there are more scientific results from adult stem cell research than research into embryonic stem cells, as it called for more funding to become available to expand research into adult stem cells.