Curiosity about stem cells launched journey
In early 2004, Americans were confronted with a bewildering slew of news about embryonic stem cells.
Korean researchers had just announced they had cloned human embryos in an attempt to harvest the controversial cells. Harvard researchers revealed they had launched a major private campaign to create a large supply of embryonic stem cells for research. And John F. Kerry and George W. Bush, locked in a tight race for the presidency, sharply disagreed on federal funding of stem cell research.
With many Americans confused or frightened by the developments, Globe science reporter Gareth Cook saw an opportunity.
''Basically, I was just really curious," he said yesterday. ''Then, as I talked to people, I realized there were some amazing stories [on stem cells] that had not been told but needed to."
Cook launched a yearlong journalistic effort that yesterday was awarded the Pulitzer prize for explanatory reporting. Pulitzer judges lauded Cook's work for ''explaining, with clarity and humanity, the complex scientific and ethical dimensions of stem cell research."
Cook's reporting took him from Minnesota to the Czech Republic to Ukraine, and into the lives of local families affected by the issue. The research and ethical issues involved were filled with nuances that seemed to get lost in public debate, said Cook.
''There is so much gray area. Even scientists do not agree on precisely what is, and is not, a stem cell," he said.
Embryonic stem cells have the ability to morph into any body tissue, and researchers believe they may one day offer treatments for Parkinson's disease, diabetes, and a wide range of other debilitating diseases, though any therapies are years off. The research, however, has drawn criticism from many people and groups, including the Roman Catholic Church, because days-old human embryos must be destroyed in order to obtain the cells, which the critics see as taking a life.
The issue remains very much in the public eye.
Last October, Cook disclosed plans by Harvard University scientists to clone human cells, and in November, California voters approved a $3 billion initiative to fund stem cell research in that state, raising fears that top scientists would leave Massachusetts for the West Coast. In response, the Massachusetts Senate and House overwhelmingly passed legislation explicitly allowing embryonic stem cell work, including cloning human cells -- something Governor Mitt Romney has opposed.
Cook's reporting showed that numerous labs around the world had raced ahead in producing embryonic stem cell supplies while US scientists struggled to find funding for their work. In addition, he explored the potential of adult stem cells, which many believe offer all the benefits of embryonic stem cells without the ethical troubles, but Cook's reporting showed these assertions are largely unproven.
Cook also broke a story about a conservative member of President Bush's bioethics panel who had been quietly exploring a new technique called ''altered nuclear transfer," a potential way to produce embryonic stem cells without destroying embryos. In December, the panel's influential chairman, Leon R. Kass, endorsed the proposal.
For families affected by disease, stem cells offer tantalizing hope, as Cook found. He profiled a Sutton, Mass., family that traveled to a clinic in Kiev, and spent thousands of dollars for a questionable stem cell treatment for their son, who suffered from muscular dystrophy.
He also wrote about a Weymouth woman who, though an antiabortion Catholic and a Republican, donated her unused IVF embryos to stem cell researchers.
''I was surprised at how profoundly moving their stories were, and surprised at how open the families were with me," said Cook. ''I owe them a big debt -- and so do readers."
Cook's stories are available online at www.boston.com/news/science/stemcell.Mishra can be reached at rmishra@globe.com.
