Funding for scientific research is the lowest ever, hope there is no argument on this, but yet, no groundbreaking changes, neither there is any rethinking happens in the white house nor there is any progress among the scientific lobbying forces. The debate on stem cell research fund is continuing, where is it going is just nobody's guess?.
WASHINGTON, June 7 — The House gave final Congressional approval on Thursday to legislation aimed at easing restrictions on federal financing of embryonic stem cell research, but Democratic leaders in both chambers conceded they were short of the votes needed to override a veto threatened by President Bush.
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Congress Passes Stem Cell Legislation
American Academy of NeurologyJune 11, 2007
On June 7, the U.S. House of Representatives passedthe Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (S.5) by a vote of 247 to 176.
Though the House already passed similar legislation in January, S. 5 is the version approved by the Senate.
The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act would allow federal funding for research using stem cells derived from human embryos originally created for fertility treatments and willingly donated by patients. S. 5 differs from previous versions of this bill because it also includes language that requires the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to research and fund methods for creating embryonic stem cell lines without destroying embryos.Only five percent of existing stem-cell lines (21 out of over 400) may currently be used in federally funded research, limiting the ability of American researchers to pursue pioneering stem-cell research.Now that S. 5 has been passed by both the House and Senate, it will be sent to the President, who has again threatened to veto this bill.
In April, the AAN sent a letter to President Bush urging him to sign S. 5 into law. In addition, nearly 300 AAN members have contacted Congress in support of this legislation. To learn more and to send your own letters of support on this issue, visit the AAN's page on ESCR advocacy.
Published online: 14 June 2007 doi:10.1038/stemcells.2007.35
California awards $50 million for labs culturing human embryonic stem cells
Monya Baker1
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has approved grants totaling over $50 million to fund dedicated laboratory space for culturing human embryonic stem cells.The grants will go to design, build, and renovate core laboratories to be used by multiple investigators and multiple institutions. This brings the total award value of grants awarded by CIRM to just over $208 million.
