Currently available lines of human embryonic stem cells are contaminated with a nonhuman molecule that compromises their potential use in humans, according to a study from researchers at the University of California, San Diego, and the Salk Institute in La Jolla, Calif. The study was published in the online Jan. 23 issue of the journal Nature Medicine.
Supporters of expanding the federal policy on stem cell research touted the research as evidence that the current policy isn't working. In August 2001, President Bush announced a policy allowing federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research but only on a limited number of stem cell lines that were derived before Aug. 9, 2001. “Stem cell policy in 2005 should not be based on 2001 policy,” Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.), said in a statement. “An expansion of this policy is critical to our scientists and researchers who need access to the best stem cell lines available and who want the important ethical guidance of the National Institutes of Health.”
Rep. Castle and Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) have been pushing for an easing of the 2001 federal policy.
Meanwhile, at the state level, some states want to follow in California's footsteps by attracting scientists to their states to conduct research on human embryonic stem cells. The governors of New Jersey and Connecticut have announced proposals to spend millions to entice stem cell researchers to their states, and a New York state senator wants to ask the state's voters for approval of a $1 billion stem cell research initiative.