A developmental biologist who studies the pancreas, Charles Murtaugh wants to know if embryonic stem cells can be coaxed into becoming insulin-producing clusters, potentially replacing those ravaged by Type I diabetes.

Now, the University of Utah researcher said, he's going to attempt to find out.

On Monday, President Barack Obama signed an executive order lifting the nation's ban on funding research on new embryonic stem cell lines. The move was applauded by Americans hoping for new cures, but assailed by critics who see the research as akin to abortion.

Before overturning the 8-year-old ban put in place by his predecessor, President George W. Bush, Obama told a crowd of about 150 guests that he understood those with different views and promised the government would not "undertake this research lightly."

"We will support it only when it is both scientifically worthy and responsibly conducted," he said. The president also denounced "cloning for human reproduction."

It's an outcome Michelle Parker -- a Utah mother of two children with Type 1 diabetes -- has hoped for since she and her husband, Chad, first traveled to Washington, D.C., in 2005 to lobby Congress to reverse the ban.

"I'm thrilled because I think it will help a lot of families who have children with not only diabetes, but other diseases and problems as well," the Santa Clara woman said. "It is something I would have liked to have seen sooner, but I'm just glad it's going to happen."

With the change, Murtaugh, an assistant professor of human genetics, hopes to soon tap into a fresh line of embryonic stem cells developed at Harvard to start running preliminary experiments. Previous research hasn't proved successful with adult stem cells -- they don't seem able to restore the pancreas's lost function. Embryonic stem cells, on the other hand, can morph into any cell of the body.

It's an opportunity Murtaugh couldn't have taken advantage of before Obama's decision.

"Younger scientists can now actually look forward to being able to do this [research all lines of embryonic stem cells], not only now, but in the future when they have their own labs," he said.

Like other U.S. scientists, Murtaugh mostly relies on funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other sources of federal dollars -- money that, until now, could only buy embryonic stem cell lines created before Aug. 9, 2001.

It discouraged many researchers from exploring the field, because the NIH-fundable lines are considered unrepresentative of the general population and have evolved genetically in the laboratory over time, said Linda Kelley, director of the U.'s Cell Therapy Facility.

Some were also cultivated in the presence of mouse proteins, a method that is no longer used, she said.

While using non-federal lines has always been an option, she said, it proved to be a prohibitively expensive one, because equipment and personnel funded with federal dollars couldn't be used to study such lines. Removing the ban, she believes, will unleash a flood of new research at the U. and elsewhere.

"It's very exciting and long overdue," she said. "The significant impact, I think, will not only be on moving the field forward," but also making NIH research dollars available to invest all over the country.

House Republican leader John Boehner criticized Obama's decision, saying the government should focus on advancements in adult stem cells before asking "taxpayers to subsidize the destruction of innocent human life."

But Obama argued the Bush ban "forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values."

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, who attended Monday's announcement and supported lifting the ban, agrees. Embryonic stem cells are generally harvested from leftover embryos created for in vitro fertilization. These embryos would otherwise be discarded, he said.

"How can they justify sitting there and saying you can destroy them that way, but you can't use them for the benefit of mankind?" Hatch asked. "I mean, that's just stupid."

Hatch, a pro-life senator who has been criticized for his position, said: "I've become totally convinced that being pro-life is caring for the living as much as the unborn."

Hatch said Obama's executive order may be a key step in reducing health care costs in the long term. "If we could find a cure for diabetes, that would save trillions of federal dollars down the line," said Hatch, noting that stem cells could lead to new treatments for maladies from Alzheimer's disease to joint problems.

lrosetta@sltrib.com mcanham@sltrib.com