National ESC Guidelines to be Updated

National ESC Guidelines to be Updated

The San Diego Tribune reports that a new committee will be founded to update ethical guidelines for research using human embryonic stem cells. The news was announced by the National Research Council and by the Institute of Medicine, both of which are part of the National Academy of Sciences. The as yet un-named committee will be privately funded. It will periodically update the existing standards as research advances. The New York Times story on the issue is only available to registered members of the NY Times site, but the Kaiser Network also reported on the NYT story.

I want to make it clear here that standards already exist and that scientists are not conducting research willy-nilly. But the technology is advancing rapidly. Because of the federal government’s restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, a private organization has to step in to fill the gap. I look forward to hearing who the members of the committee are and other details as they unfold.

Illinois Governor wants stem cell funding

Illinois Governor wants stem cell funding

This is just a snippet. The governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, included $100 million over the next five years for stem cell research in his proposed budget. The media coverage is generally about the overall budget proposal; WQAD in Moline ran a short AP story about the stem cell aspect. The funding would include money for embryonic stem cell research. The Chicago Tribune reports that House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego), who is “the father of a child with juvenile diabetes and an ardent advocate for stem-cell research,” said he was unsure whether the state could afford the stem cell proposal. The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that the proposal includes $15 million this year and increases annually, with the funds coming from the state’s portion of the national tobacco settlement.