First New Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Approved for U.S. Funding
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By Rob Waters
Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Thirteen human embryonic stem cell lines were approved for use by U.S.-funded researchers today, the first of hundreds of new cell colonies that may become available under new polices promised by President Barack Obama.
The newly approved lines were created by researchers at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Rockefeller University, in New York, using private donations during the eight years that federal funding for stem-cell research was restricted by former President George W. Bush. The approval of the lines was announced today by Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, in a telephone briefing with reporters.
Hundreds of new lines are being reviewed or have been submitted for review to see if they meet ethical guidelines announced by the health agency in April, according to the NIH Web site. Obama pledged to reverse Bush administration limits on stem-cell funding during his campagin for president. Congress twice voted to overturn the Bush restrictions, and measures were vetoed by Bush both times.
The newly approved lines were created by researchers at Harvard and Rockefeller Universities using embryos left over at fertility clinics and with private donations during the eight years that federal funding for stem-cell research was sharply restricted by former President George W. Bush.
Embryonic stem cells, taken from days-old human embryos and kept alive in solution, have the ability to turn into roughly 200 cell types in the body. Their use is opposed by some people because their extraction causes the destruction of the embryo.
To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Waters in San Francisco at rwaters5@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: December 2, 2009 12:33 EST
