21 Apr New guidelines offered for stem cell research
The first federally funded research in almost eight years involving new lines of human embryonic stem cells will be restricted to embryos created by in vitro fertilization and no longer needed by the couples who made them, according to draft guidelines announced Friday by the National Institutes of Health.
Embryos made specifically for scientific research would not be eligible for NIH funding. Nor would embryos created by so-called therapeutic cloning, which involves removing the nucleus of an unfertilized egg and inserting in its place the nucleus of a more mature cell.
A little more than a month after President Barack Obama made good on his election pledge to lift restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, the NIH offered the first clear picture of how the new administration intends to rewrite the rules governing one of the most controversial areas of science.
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