US stem cell research progresses despite limitations

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7506.1467-b

BMJ 2005;330:1467 (25 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7506.1467-b

News roundup

US stem cell research progresses despite limitations

New York Janice Hopkins Tanne

Scientists in the United States, supported by private funds, are circumventing the so called "presidential" stem lines approved by President Bush in August 2001 for publicly funded research and are managing to conduct further stem cell research.

Currently, federalfunding for stem cell research in the US is possible only on the 22 lines in existence before9 August 2001. The US House of Representatives recently passed a bill to increase government funding for research on human embryos, and a Gallup poll in early May showed that 60% of Americans said medical research involving stem cells was morally acceptable. However, President Bush has said he would veto the bill (BMJ 2005;330:1285), because of his Christian belief that embryos were "emerging human life."

The 22 stem cell lines are all thought to be unsuitable for human treatment, because they were grown on mouse feeder cells. . . . [Full text of this article]

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