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NIH Publishes Guidelines for Federal Funding of Pluripotent Stem Cell Research

On Wednesday, the National Institute of Health (NIH) released its Guidelines for Research Using Human Pluripotent Stem Cells. The Guidelines, which go into effect today, end the moratorium on federal funding for stem cells obtained from human embryo or fetal tissue. NIH published an earlier draft for public input at the end of last year (see the December 3, 1999 Scout Report), and the final Guidelines begins with an attempt to address some of the various criticisms that different advocacy groups and individuals have raised. Nonetheless, the decision to allow federal funding for such research has predictably unleashed a storm of controversy. Detractors (among them, most right-to-life groups) maintain that the use of human embryonic stem cells is unethical and unnecessary, arguing that other avenues of research (adult stem cells, gene therapy, etc.) should prove just as fruitful. On the other hand, proponents of the Guidelines (including many patient advocacy groups) feel that the restrictions on funding delineated by NIH will ensure that stem cell research be conducted ethically, and that stem cells obtained from embryonic and fetal tissue hold an unparalleled potential. Scientists hope that research on human pluripotent stem cells will lead to methods for growing organs and tissues, developing drugs, and better understanding diseases and conditions.
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Date of Scout Publication
August 25th, 2000
Date Of Record Creation
April 7th, 2003 at 2:08pm
Date Of Record Release
April 7th, 2003 at 2:08pm
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