|
|
Law & Policy News
Wed Feb 09, 2005
| Couple May Sue Over Discarded Embryo |
| By Anonymous - February 5, 2005 |
| A couple whose frozen embryo was accidentally destroyed at a fertility clinic has the right in Illinois to file a wrongful-death lawsuit, a judge has ruled in a case that some legal experts say could have implications in the debate over embryonic stem cell research. In an opinion issued Friday, Cook County Judge Jeffrey Lawrence said "a pre-embryo is a 'human being' ... whether or not it is implanted in its mother's womb." He said the couple is as entitled to seek compensation as any parents whose child has been killed. The suit was filed by Alison Miller and Todd Parrish, who stored nine embryos in January 2000 at the Center for Human Reproduction in Chicago. Their doctor said one embryo looked particularly promising,... |
| Source: The Miami Herald |
[0] comments (207 views)
|
| Brazil to study use of stem cells in heart treatment |
| By Anonymous - February 3, 2005 |
| Brazil announced Wednesday the launch of an ambitious experimental program to use stem cells to treat heart diseases. "The project which Brazil is developing is unique in the world, in the number of case studies -- 1,200 patients -- and the number of institutions involved, 40 across the whole country," a ministry official told AFP. The five-million-dollar study aims at evaluating the eventual replacement of traditional cardiac treatments such as heart grafts with a therapy using stem cells... |
| Source: Channel News Asia |
[0] comments (204 views)
|
| Asia taking the stem cell lead - Western pre-eminence challenged by China, Singapore and South Korea, UK report says |
| By Stephen Pincock - January 25, 2005 |
| Researchers in China, South Korea, and Singapore are testing the lead taken by Western countries in the field of stem cell research, the members of a UK government mission said on Monday (January 24). Last September, the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) sent a group of leading figures from the field of stem cell science on a 2-week trip to the three Asian countries to assess the quality of science being done and to evaluate possible commercial opportunities. What they saw was impressive, the members of the mission say in a report. "Researchers in China, Singapore, and South Korea are as talented as their UK counterparts. They are probably better funded and equipped. The perspective is more long term in all three countries than the UK," they write... |
| Source: The Scientist |
[0] comments (202 views)
|
| Asia Jockeys for Stem Cell Lead |
| By Dennis Normile and Charles C. Mann - February 4, 2005 |
| Veterinarian Woo Suk Hwang and gynecologist Shin Yong Moon leapt from obscurity to scientific stardom last February when they isolated embryonic stem (ES) cells from cloned human cells, a world first and a key step toward therapeutic, or research, cloning. Coming from a region that rarely produces scientific headlines, the announcement by the Seoul National University (SNU) pair stunned researchers around the world. But it was no fluke. Hwang has a long track record of successful animal cloning. Moon is South Korea's leading expert in assisted reproductive technology. The duo were able to draw on the expertise of a dozen co-authors at six institutions. And when Western scientists got their first peek into the SNU lab,... |
| Source: Science, Vol 307, Issue 5710, 660-664 |
[0] comments (202 views)
|
Mon Dec 20, 2004
| Woes for California's stem-cell experiment - Regulation and ethical battles swirl ahead as the state figures out how to spend its $3 billion initiative |
| By Mark Sappenfield - December 20, 2004 |
| The debate over stem-cell research has been stirred again - this time by the unlikeliest of sources. For months, state Sen. Deborah Ortiz has been the strongest political voice in favor of California's bid to earmark $3 billion for stem-cell research. From southern California to the halls of Washington, she took part in public forums and bandied words with the Bush administration to promote Proposition 71, the initiative that eventually passed last month. So when she recently said the plan was so flawed that it needed to be corrected by legislative decree, Senator Ortiz gave rise to a perplexing question: What has California gotten itself into? Only half-joking, some scientists say California is set to become NIH West... |
| Source: Christian Science Monitor |
[0] comments (190 views)
|
Sat Dec 18, 2004
| Financier to Lead Institute on Stem Cells |
| By Carolyn Marshall - December 18, 2004 |
| The real estate developer who helped write and finance a ballot initiative to create a California stem cell institute was elected on Friday to a six-year term as chairman of the committee that oversees it. The financier, Robert N. Klein, a Palo Alto housing developer with strong ties to the Democratic Party, was unanimously approved here at the first meeting of the state-appointed committee that will dictate policy and oversee the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the $3 billion research agency created on Nov. 2 when the state's voters approved the initiative, Proposition 71. Mr. Klein, 59, of Portola Valley, will take the helm of the new 29-member board, known as the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee,... |
| Source: The New York Times |
[0] comments (204 views)
|
Fri Dec 17, 2004
| States play catch-up on stem cells |
| By Martin Kasindorf - December 17, 2004 |
| Three years after President Bush announced restrictions on federally funded medical research using stem cells from human embryos, a California panel will meet today to begin the process of granting $3 billion in state money to stem cell researchers. Calif. governor Arnold Schwarzenegger supported an initiative passed by voters for $3 billion for stem cell researchers. Moving fast on an initiative that California voters approved on Nov. 2, the 27-member committee aims to encourage research into controversial stem cell techniques to explore potential cures for 700 diseases and debilitating conditions. These include spinal cord injuries, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Lou Gehrig's disease... |
| Source: USA Today |
[0] comments (204 views)
|
Wed Dec 15, 2004
| 'Coronation' of committee head on stem cell funds disturbs some |
| By Terri Somers - December 15, 2004 |
| Real estate finance expert Robert Klein, one of the key figures behind the state's $3 billion stem cell initiative, will be the only candidate nominated to lead the oversight committee that will dole out the money. State Treasurer Phil Angelides made it nearly certain yesterday that Klein will get the job when he followed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and state Controller Steve Westly in nominating him. Under the ballot measure that voters approved last month, the four had the only nominations for the position... |
| Source: SignOnSanDiego.com |
[0] comments (211 views)
|
| Ukrainian parliament bans human cloning |
| By Anonymous - December 15, 2004 |
| The Supreme Council [parliament] has adopted the law of Ukraine "On banning reproductive human cloning". The law was drafted by MPs Oleksandr Volkov and Oleksandr Bilovol. The law was voted "in favour" by 253 our of the 420 members of parliament registered in the assembly hall. Banning reproductive human cloning in Ukraine is based on the principle of respect of the human being, acknowledging the value of the personality and the need to protects human rights and freedoms, and because of the incomplete research into biological and social consequences of human cloning. |
| Source: BBC Monitoring |
[0] comments (188 views)
|
Mon Dec 13, 2004
| UK scientists defend HFEA - Support for fertility watchdog after it is criticized by top IVF expert |
| By Pat Hagan - December 13, 2004 |
| Scientists involved in reproductive medicine and stem cell research have leapt to the defense of Britain's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), after a leading figure called on Friday (December 10) for it to be scrapped. The authority was heavily criticized in media reports by Robert Winston, widely regarded as one of the country's most senior fertility specialists. Winston said in an interview with the BBC that he believed the HFEA should be scrapped and that its role should be taken over by a proposed new body, called the Human Tissue Authority... |
| Source: The Scientist |
[0] comments (194 views)
|
|
|
|
