International News
Obama to sign stem cells order on Monday
6 March 2009
President Barack Obama, who opposes limits on federal funding of stem cell research, will sign an executive order about stem cells on Monday, an administration official said on Friday.
The official could not confirm the details of what Obama would sign, but advisers had previously said he favored lifting the eight-year limitation on funding of human embryonic stem cell research imposed by his predecessor, President George W. Bush.
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Virus-free pluripotency for human cells
3 March 2009
Nature News reports that for the first time, specialized human cells have been transformed into a state similar to that seen in embryonic stem cells, without using viruses. The advance edges stem-cell biologists closer to clearing a barrier to using reprogrammed cells for therapies and drug screening.
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UK Medical Research Coundil and California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) sign agreement that supports collaborations.
27 October 2008
Teams of scientists from the UK and California will now be able to file joint grant applications for funding into stem cell research, in an attempt to form international partnerships to amplify research. The MRC will fund the work carried out in Britain, and the CIRM will pay for work of the California team members. Similar agreements were announced in June between the CIRM and the Australian state of Victoria and Canada's Cancer Stem Cell Consortium.
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Stem Cells and the US election
30 September 2008
The SCI has been tracking the political debate surrounding stem cells through a number of its projects. The forthcoming US election will provide an important moment when Federal policy my change and foster greater support for research in the field. Here Barack Obama and John McCain respond to a series of questions put by Nature, including their position on stem cell research. Obama adopts a more supportive line while McCain is more equivocal (though is running mate Palin is opposed to embryonic stem cell research).
South Korea To Lift Ban On Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research
01 October 2007
The South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare on Thursday announced it will allow scientists to conduct research on creating embryonic stem cells by cloning human embryos, the AP/West Australian reports (AP/West Australian, 9/27). Human embryonic stem cell research was banned last year after Hwang Woo Suk and colleagues from Seoul National University published fraudulent claims that they had created genetically matched embryonic stem cell lines.
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Australian Prime Minister rejects theraputic cloning
31 July 2007
Australian Prime Minister John Howard rejected the recommendations of the Lockhart Review that the current law should be amended to permit research into therapeutic cloning in Australia. This was followed shortly by President Bush also overruling the votes of the US Congress to veto a similar legislative proposal to
allow federal funding for new embryonic stem cell research.
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EU approves funding for ES cells
19 June 2007
The European parliament has voted to allow European Union (EU) funding for projects involving human embryonic stem (ES) cell research in the latest round of FP7 funding.
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Young researchers choosing Europe for stem cell careers
12 January 2006
Marie-Curie mobility grants and the flagship project EuroStemCell, funded by the EU’s framework programme, maybe reasons why young researchers have chosen to tie their careers to Europe’s stem cell future.
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US CONGRESS MAY DEBATE NEW STEM CELL LEGISLATION IN NEW YEAR
5 December 2006
By Antony Blackburn-Starza:
In the US, the Democrats have indicated that they will push for a vote on stem cell legislation which would permit the allocation of federal funding for research, previously vetoed by President Bush.
Senate Majority Leader-elect, Harry Reid, who will take control of the Senate's agenda when a new Congress resumes on the 4 January next year, has said that the Democrats will tackle ethics, the minimum wage, and stem cell research, after first cleaning up the 'financial mess' left behind by the Republicans. House Speaker-in-waiting, Nancy Pelosi, has already pledged to tackle the issue of federal funding for stem cell research in her first hundred hours of leadership.
The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act was debated by Congress last July, when the House of Representatives voted 235-193 in favour and the Senate voted 63-37 in favour of the legislation that would have extended federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Despite the overwhelming majority in Congress, the votes did not reach the two-thirds majority required to overturn President Bush's decision to veto the legislation.
Following the recent mid-term elections, the Democrats achieved a majority in both the House and the Senate and it is hoped that the two-thirds majority in the Senate may now be reached. 'The election did show that there's a mandate to expand embryonic stem cell research,' said Republican Diana De Gette, 'The main thing that has changed is that public awareness has increased so muchŠ The public realises the potential benefits, and what that does is put tremendous pressure on the White House'. President Bush opposes embryonic stem cell research on the grounds that human life is destroyed in the process. White House spokesman, Tony Fratto, has said that the President's position on the issue stands firm but he would not 'issue veto threats on hypothetical legislation'. However, if the proposed legislation is reintroduced and again passed by Congress, the President may be under pressure from the perceived increasing US public support for embryonic research to forgo his veto.
Reid has indicated, however, that the Senate is not yet in a position where gaining a two-thirds majority to override a Presidential veto will be likely but that he hopes that some Republicans will be persuaded to switch sides.
Revisions to the stem cell act would improve framework conditions for German researchers
14 November 2006
Regulation and the penalties established in the Stem Cell Act of 2002, German researchers are denied access to new cell lines and, to a large extent, prevented from working in international projects. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ( DFG, German Research Foundation ) therefore argues that the 2002 Stem Cell Act stands in urgent need of revision and now, in its third statement on stem cell research is making a case for a series of recommendations.
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New EU rules allow continued, limited, stem cell research
24 July 2006
The European Union decided Monday to continue funding human embryonic stem cell research, although new rules adopted by the 25-nation bloc prevent human cloning and destroying embryos.
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Germany and Finland go head to head on stem cell funding
21 July 2006
Germany is looking to rally a coalition of predominantly Catholic countries to block EU funding of embryonic stem cell research. The group composed of Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia, Lithuania and Ireland and possibly Italy are against Finnish proposal to permit funding research on embryonic stem cells.
Finland, who is the country currently holding the EU rotating presidency, along with the majority of the European nations, led by the UK wants to retain the option of public funding for the research while prohibiting certain uses of the funding—research on human cloning, human genetic modification and the artificial creation of human embryos for research would be banned.
The EU approved funding for embryonic stem cell research last month, with a narrow majority, in a surprise vote on science research funding. If Germany’s efforts are successful, the amendment would force another reading of the measure in Parliament.
Germany is particularly sensitive to any connotations with stem cell research and Nazi let genetic experimentation – so much so that it has effectively banned all research using embryonic stem cells.
European Parliament compromises on access to funds for Stem Cell Research
15 June 2006
The European Parliament voted today to allow researchers working on stem cells to access EU funding for their experiments.
The legislative compromise was made on the proviso that the experiments are not creating human embryos solely for the purpose of research.
Other restrictions on access to EU funding are that the experiments not be directly connected to research into human cloning; for reproductive purposes; or for the modification of human genetic heritage.
Italian Government sparks political upheaval over Stem Cell Research
2 June 2006
On Tuesday 30th May, Italian Research Minister, Fabio Mussi made an announcement in Brussels which could cause a potential split between centre-left government and the country’s conservative leanings.
Mussi withdrew Italy's signature from a "declaration of ethics" which Rome and other countries made in November a move which suggests that the new government is looking to support embryonic stem cell research. The declaration was originally signed by the centre-right government leader Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who objected to using EU funds for embryonic stem cell research and created a "blocking minority" on the release of EU money for some research projects.
Mussi defended his position by saying, "Let us stay open to dialogue on ethics, and let's not close the door on human hope." He also had support from Rita Levi Montalcini, a senator-for-life in the Italian parliament who won the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1986.
However, n ewly elected Premier Romano Prodi and many members of his centre-left coalition have distanced themselves from Mussi's position.
This has led to many ministers being unconvinced that Mussi has the full backing of all of Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government and have now demanded a parliamentary vote of no confidence again Mussi. In addition Mussi also came under attack from the Roman Catholic Church who was shocked that Mussi could have taken such a step without greater consultation with other political forces.
In Italy stem cell research remain illegal and is not affected by Mussi's decision.
Human Rights, Privacy And Medical Research: Analysing UK Policy On Tissue And Data
19 May 2006
Report By John Gillott, Genetic Interest Group
This report traces the impact that the right to privacy is having on the regulation of medical research and clinical practice, with a particular focus on implications for human genetics.
This report analyses the directions that government policy has been taking, and suggests some responses. GIG argues that the right to privacy is being given too much weight in the context of medical research and clinical genetics, with insufficient reference to wider rights law and court decisions. This is creating political, legal and social turmoil that is disruptive for the public, regulators and the research community.
The report aims to outline a set of proposals for a more reasonable and stable future, most notably, a future that emphasises the importance of cooperation and solidarity, as well as individualism and choice.
See a full copy of the report here - pdf
Finding a Path Between Faith and Human Need
9 May 2006
Professor Sheila McLean of the International Bar Association Professor of Law and Ethics in Medicine at the University of Glasgow has reviewed the Church of Scotland's position on human embryo research.
In her commentary, available at http://www.bionews.org.uk/commentary.lasso?storyid=3014, she discusses how the Church's commitment to the embryo, which is considered an actual person at all stages of its development, from conception onwards, has needed to be revisited in order to take in to account the needs of couples struggle to conceive and patients requiring innovative therapies.
Initially, the Church had conflicting views on reproductive cloning and production of surplus embryos for stem cell research, which it was against, while being flexible about creating and using cloned embryos for vital research. A lack of clarity led to the Church's recent report.
The report acknowledges that there is no clear Biblical indication as to when an embryo becomes human, therefore interpretations of when this event occurs could be quiet flexible. With this in mind the Church accepts the current UK legal position of the 14-day cut off point which allows research up until that age. However, even though the embryo does not have full human rights, the research must still be for a ‘very good reason'. The report that it was less 'ethically' contentious to use embryos which are surplus or spare following IVF than deliberately creating them purely for research but equally accepted that this was not an ideal stance to take when there was not alternative source of embryos.
Professor McLean applauded the report for being ‘well informed, reasoned and open-minded, albeit set against a background of commitment to a particular faith'. The Church had proved that faith groups can still debate embryonic stem cell research, that ideological positions need not be set in stone and that there is room for compassion i.e. that the rights of the embryo can be balanced against the needs of those who are already born but suffering.