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U.S. scientists have reported a significant improvement in
the technique for genetically reprogramming mouse cells to their embryonic
state. The technique developed by University of California-San Francisco
researchers builds on previous research last year by Dr. Shinya Yamanaka and
then confirmed this spring by Yamanaka's team and, in independent studies, by
scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard and UCLA. See
story from United Press International
A week before the U.S. Senate again grapples with the
explosive issue of embryonic stem cell research, one of the most stunning
reported advances in bio-technology in years comes from stem cells not
harvested from human embryos but derived from a non-controversial source. See
story from Cybercast News Service
The Senate voted to ease restrictions on federally funded embryonic
stem cell research, ignoring President Bush's threat of a second veto on
legislation designed to lead to new medical treatments. The 63-34 vote was shy
of the margin that would be needed to enact the measure over presidential
opposition, despite gains made by supporters in last fall's elections. See story from
Forbes See vote
The House again voted to expand stem cell research funding
although another Presidential veto is virtually a certainty. See story from About.com See vote
A bill to expand stem cell research passed Congress but was vetoed by
President Bush. See
story from Christian Science Monitor See Senate vote See House vote
Scientists at a laboratory affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a stem-cell culture medium free of animal cells and used it to derive two new human embryonic stem-cell lines. See story from Reuters
The revelation that Korean scientist Hwang Woo Suk's claim that he was able to clone human stem cells was fake has settled like a cloud over the American scientific community. See story from Washington Post
Regulatory agencies will be needed to oversee the use of stem cells when current experimental therapies are ready to be tested in humans. Scientists also told a meeting on the ethical, legal and social issues surrounding stem cell research that the potential new treatments for illnesses ranging from heart disease and diabetes to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's are still 5 to 15 years away. See story from Reuters
Researchers cite progress in efforts to develop more ethical ways of harvesting stem cells thus avoiding concerns about embryo destruction and human cloning. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Scientists for the first time have turned ordinary skin cells into what appear to be embryonic stem cells -- without having to use human eggs or make new human embryos in the process, as has always been required in the past, a Harvard research team announced yesterday. See story from Washington Post
Scientists looking for less controversial alternatives to stem cells from human embryos said they had found a potential source in placentas saved during childbirth. A team at the University of Pittsburgh described primitive cells found in a part of the placenta called the amnion, which they coaxed into forming a variety of cell types and which look very similar to sought-after embryonic stem cells. It is not yet certain that the cells they found are true stem cells. But they carry two important genes which so far have only been seen on embryonic stem cells. See story from The Scotsman
Senate Republican leader Bill Frist's surprising decision to defy President Bush and endorse expanded federal support for stem cell research dramatically changed the politics of an issue that poses the potential for lifesaving medical breakthroughs against deep ethical reservations. See story from Knight Ridder
A measure to expand federal funding of stem cell research has stalled in the Senate but backers unable to get the anticipated July vote instead vowed to force the issue one way or another this year. See story from Washington Post
Italian voters effectively gave their seal of approval to a law that gives embryos the status of "full human beings." See story from Christian Science Monitor
A team of South Korean scientists has developed the first lines of patient-specific stem cells, designed to match the DNA of a specific person See story from BBC
The stem-cell legislation, passed by the House with a bipartisan majority and headed for likely passage in the Senate later this spring, would expand federal funding for research, a position President Bush vehemently opposes. And even though Bush has the strong backing of religious- conservative leaders, who believe human-embryo research entails the taking of a human life, a majority of the public - including some conservatives in the House and Senate - believe there is a higher moral value at stake: that this research could someday improve or save the lives of people with diseases the medical world considers incurable. See story from Christian Science Monitor
A deeply divided U.N. General Assembly committee adopted a nonbinding statement on Friday calling on governments to prohibit all forms of human cloning, including techniques used in research on human stem cells. See story from Reuters
Pig embryos could provide sources of new organ and tissue transplants for people, and they may pose fewer risks than using material from adult animals. See story from Reuters
A number of states are rushing to catch up with California in encouraging stem cell research, with an eye on the prestige and economic benefits that could result. See story from USA Today
California is moving quickly to launch a $3 billion stem cell research program approved by voters even as the United States is leading a campaign at the United Nations to ban all cloning of human embryos, including for stem cell studies. See story from Reuters
Embryonic stem cells - the promise they hold and the ethical dilemmas they raise - have become a high-profile topic in this campaign year. Such research divides Americans in part because of an inescapable ethical issue: In time, the research may cure terrible maladies, but to get to that point, scientists must destroy human embryos. See story from Los Angeles Times
Microscopic embryonic stem cells might hold the answer to afflictions from baldness, wrinkles, and age spots to the most intractable diseases. Or they might be a medical mirage, a tempting oasis of healing on a horizon that never grows closer. It's not yet clear which path stem-cell research will follow. It is, however, certain that it will spark more political fireworks than any medical technology in at least a quarter century. See story from Christian Science Monitor
British scientists said had received permission to clone human embryos for medical research, thought to be the first such license given in Europe. See story from Reuters
The U.S. National Institutes of Health defended federal policy on controversial stem cells saying there was still plenty of work to be done even within restrictions laid down by President Bush. See story from Reuters
The world's first embryonic stem cell bank opened in Britain, breaking new ground in one of the most controversial areas of medical research. See story from Reuters
The ongoing debate over embryonic stem cell research pits its potential benefits for human health against potential changes in what it means to be human. See story from Christian Science Monitor
President's Council on Bioethics has offered liberals and conservatives a potential way out in their contentious debate over human cloning and research. A ban on reproductive cloning would appease religious conservatives somewhat. But by not extending the ban to include cloning research, the proposal could also win over scientists and other supporters of medical research. The recommendation from the panel, appointed by President Bush, who opposes all forms of human cloning, comes as a surprise to many. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Harvard researchers are giving scientists free access to 17 new human embryonic stem cell lines that were developed without government money, the latest sign that U.S. scientists are forging ahead with the controversial research that the Bush administration has tried to limit. See story from Washington Post
Supporters and opponents of cloning both agree a South Korean breakthrough in cloning human embryos means legislation is urgently needed, but U.S. efforts to regulate the field are stymied. The researchers themselves condemned any efforts to use cloning technology to make human babies, and urged worldwide action to ban so-called reproductive cloning. But they said using the techniques to produce embryonic stem cells -- powerful nursery cells -- was not only valid but vital. Scientists believe stem cells taken from embryos provide the best chance to create tailor-made cures for diseases such as Parkinson's and cancer. See story from Reuters
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