An embryonic stem cell and an adult stem cell report topped today’s bioethics news. 

As for the embryonic stem cell news, Obama appointed bioethicist R. Alta Charo, a UW-Madison researcher and previous member of former President Bill Clinton’s Bioethics Advisory Commission, to his Health and Human Services team.  A proponent of embryonic stem cell research, Alta Charo will undoubtedly support its advancement. 

Claudia Castillo, a 30 yr/o Columbian mother of two living in Barcelona, received a successful windpipe transplant constructed from her own bone marrow adult stem cells and a donated windpipe.  “Surgeons can now start to see and understand the very real potential for adult stem cells and tissue engineering to radically improve their ability to treat patients … We believe this success has proved that we are on the verge of a new age in surgical care,” says Martin Birchall, a team member involved with the windpipe transplant. 

By: Jennifer Miller, Bioethics International (c) 2008