The US as Seen From Abroad

The US as Seen From Abroad

Several members of the United States Congress are meeting with Britoish scientists and officials in the UK about stem cell research, and the British media is full of buzz that Americans are falling behind. The BBC quotes Republican Congressman Mike Castle of Delaware, who favors embryonic stem cell research, as being concerned that the US is falling behind the UK and several Asian nations, and also as seeing a brain drain. The Guardian quotes him as saying that leadership has shifted to the UK, although it also quotes a member of the Royal Society, equivalent to the US National Academy of Sciences, as saying that the restriction in the US should not be seen as good for Britons, as many British patients benefit from international research into their illnesses. (The Guardian article also has a nice series of links to other articles and to a Q&A on stem cells, a good resource.) Reuters also covers the story, as does the Financial Times of London. (Reuters attributes the leadership quote to Rep. Diane Genette, part of the delegation, in the form of a statement.) The Reuters story has been picked up by some US media as well. Research Day lists the entire party as Castle and “Reps. Diana DeGette, D-CO, and Jim Langevin, D-RI, together with staff from the offices of Sens Bill Frist, R-TN, Edward Kennedy, D-MA, Arlen Specter, R-PA, and Tom Harkin, D-IA.” This also gives a link to a Royal Society press release, which includes statements and comments from a number of people.

This is politics, not ground-breaking research, so I won’t linger on it, but I think it’s important for American citizens to be aware of perceptions of American policy by other nations.