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The Stem-Cell Also-Ran: America
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Contributor | RP |
Last Edited | RP May 31, 2005 01:18pm |
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Category | Commentary |
News Date | Friday, May 27, 2005 07:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
Description | It's a great time to be a stem-cell researcher -- unless you're working in most U.S. laboratories. In quick succession, foreign labs have announced a series of major breakthroughs, developments that move scientists a step closer to cures for a range of illnesses. On May 20, British researchers revealed that they had cloned a human embryo. The same day, a Korean team announced success in creating stem cells from embryos cloned from people with diseases. Such cells could then theoretically be used as treatments for those people. And earlier this year, Japanese researchers reported that they had used stem cells to cure Parkinson's-like disease in monkeys.
These overseas triumphs are a reminder that restrictions on federal funding for stem-cell research in the U.S., as well as many state and federal threats to ban much of the research, are hindering the pace of research in America. As part of an ongoing lobbying effort, 37 university presidents and chancellors sent Congress a letter on May 23, arguing that progress in foreign labs is "an indication that U.S. scientists are being hobbled in their pursuit of cures and therapies using this promising research." |
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