In the news

On 9 August, President George Bush made his long-awaited announcement on the future of research on embryonic stem cells in the US. His decision was that research would be allowed only on existing stem cell lines prepared using private funds. The embryos used to obtain the cells must have been donated with consent for this purpose and without any fee being charged, and must have been "spare" embryos left over from fertility treatments. According to the announcement, 60 such cell lines exist, but many researchers question this number and maintain that there are fewer than a dozen, and maybe only a handful, of lines that are of demonstrated high quality. The National Institutes of Health will prepare a register of approved embryonic stem cell lines, and research in this field will be monitored closely by a new Presidential Council. Critics of the decision fear that research in the US will be severely hampered by the embargo on using new cell lines that may be much better than existing ones. They are also concerned at the potential cost of using commercially prepared cell lines.