Baltimore

Panel has stem cell concerns

A medical ethics panel said Monday it would be unethical and risky to treat people with the embryonic stem cells approved by President Bush for federally funded research.

The approved cell lines, created for possible future disease treatments, were initially grown on mouse cells. That could expose humans to an animal virus their immune systems couldn’t fight, the panel said. The experts said that safer stem cell lines now exist, but those would not be eligible for federal funding.

Embryonic stem cells have the ability to grow into all kinds of cells, and they are sought as potential treatments for victims of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and spinal cord injuries.

But because embryos discarded from fertility clinics are a major source of stem cells, the issue has sparked an ethical debate. On Aug. 9, 2001, Bush announced that federal money would be granted for research using only stem cell lines created by that date. That way, he hoped to stop the destruction of future human embryos.

Washington, D.C.

Natural gas supplies called adequate for winter

Natural gas inventories have rebounded and are above average for this time of year easing concern about possible tight supplies and price spikes this winter, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Monday.

Abraham said moderate weather had eased demand and allowed natural gas inventories to exceed levels from last year at this time.

The Energy Information Administration said that 3.16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas were in storage at the end of October, just over 1 percent more than the five-year average.

Last May, storage levels fell to the lowest ever recorded for the start of summer, nearly 40 percent below the five-year average. That prompted concern about natural gas supplies for this winter’s heating season. But summer weather was cooler than expected and this fall has been generally warmer, allowing the industry to build up supplies.

But residential consumers can still expect to pay more for heating this winter, compared to last year. Much of the gas put in storage was purchased at above-average prices.

Washington, D.C.

Half of Americans say Iraq war not worthwhile

Amid increasing attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq, a growing number of Americans, including men and independent voters, say the war in Iraq was not worthwhile, according to a survey released Monday.

Half of Americans, 49 percent, say the war was not worth it, compared with 48 percent who say it was, according to a survey conducted this month by the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

That’s a change from results in October, when 52 percent of Americans polled nationwide said the situation in Iraq was worth going to war over, while 43 percent said it was not.

The latest survey was conducted Nov. 1 through Nov. 9, a period when news of U.S. helicopters being shot down in Iraq gained wide attention.

Shifts in opinion were seen in most demographic groups, but were strongest among men, independents and political moderates and people with incomes of less than $35,000 per year, the survey found. The poll of 738 adults had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.