Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has a personal interest in passing embryonic stem cell legislation for not only millions of others in dire need of this life improving research, but also for his Navy vet nephew who became quadriplegic from a spinal chord injury while serving in the US Navy. It was announced yesterday that new research shows some promise from stem cells found floating in amniotic fluid and able to be harvested from a fairly common and relatively safe procedure called amniocentesis. Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School after seven years of research published a study yesterday in the journal Nature Biotechnology about the latest source of stem cells which they have named amniotic fluid-derived stem (AFS) cells, Anthony Atala, M.D., senior researcher and director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine Atala said in a release: ‘In addition to being easily obtainable, the AFS cells can be grown in large quantities because they typically double every 36 hours. They also do not require guidance from other cells (termed ‘feeders’) and they do not produce tumors, which can occur with certain other types of […]