Following through with President Obama's executive order issued March 9, Removing Barriers to Responsible Scientific Research Involving Human Stem Cells (link to PDF), the NIH has released a draft of guidelines revising the NIH's position on how it may fund "responsible, scientifically worthy human stem cell research, including human embryonic stem cell research." The funding only extends to human embryonic stem cells derived from embryos created in excess at fertility clinics. ScienceBlogger Nick Anthis from The Scientific Activist views the creation of these guidelines as a "significant step forward" but also thinks the the fact hESC lines created specifically for research will not be eligible for funding is a "pretty severe limitation."
Related ScienceBlogs Posts:
- NIH Announces New Embryonic Stem Cell Research Guidelines
- President Obama Begins to Reverse Bush Era Political Interference in Science
- Obama lifts stem cell restrictions
- Lifting the stem cell ban - was there any point?
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Image by The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine from Flickr.