Follow the Money—The Politics of Embryonic Stem Cell Research 英文参考文献.docVIP

Open access, freely available online Feature Follow the Money—The Politics of Embryonic Stem Cell Research Eugene Russo G erman embryonic stem cell scientist Oliver Brustle faces major challenges in his lab on a daily basis that have little to do with science. His country’s policy An Intriguing Proposition Stanford University (Stanford, California, United States of America) stem cell scientist Irv Weissman, who played a key role in the multimillion dollar effort that recruited researchers, advocates, and Hollywood actors to support Prop 71, attributes the effort’s inception to a 2002 US National Academy of Sciences report on cloning. It contended that therapeutic cloning, or somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), on human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) is among the most restrictive in Europe. Collaborations with other countries are difficult. And he’s overwhelmed by the time and paperwork necessary to comply with regulations and to apply for permits. Brustle, an investigator at the University of Bonn (Bonn, Germany), often ponders the possibility of taking his work elsewhere. “I think about it every day,” he says. “Sometimes [the regulations] get to the point where they’re suffocating.” Many of his German colleagues have similar sentiments, he says. In Germany, scientists can only work on hESC lines derived in labs outside the country, and even then, only if the line was derived prior to 2002. Federal law prohibits the derivation of new hESC lines. Yet Brustle is optimistic that hESC technology, flush with research dollars in many countries and garnering interest worldwide, is destined for greatness. He takes solace in the fact that his long-time scientific pursuit has potential for success on several different fronts. Indeed, though some hESC scientists like Brustle are frustrated, others are thriving. The most recent front is California, where Proposition 71 [1], passed last November, sent science policy shock waves across the United States and around the world