hESC

What I learned about human embryonic stem cells (hESC) research today.
1. Bush has restricted research to about 20 cell lines. None of them have any clinical value because they have been tainted by mouse viruses at some point.
2. There are dueling bills going through the legislature. Some people are trying to do something to overturn Bush's ban on new cell lines. Others are trying to criminalize anything to do with cell lines. Imagine taking a sick child to Europe for stem cell treatment and both you and your child being jailed as soon as you get back to the US.
3. Bush has really escalated the exposure of this area of study, galvanizing people on both sides of the issue. Maybe too much so. The research is interesting and has a lot of potential, but they might find out that there are too many barriers to potential health improvements. People might have their hopes a little high when it comes to potential cures.
4. Other countries do not have the moral and religious qualms that the US does. Several countries are ahead of the US in this area of research.
5. The cell lines that do exist come from infertile couples attempting IVF. All rich white couples.
6. California voters have decided to support this research, but the legal challenges going on may tie things up for a while. (That happens to everything these days, doesn't it.)
7. The Institution where I work is very geared to take a significant chunk of the 3 billion dollar research fund set aside by California voters. Hence the training I received today. The trick is to keep hESC research separate from NIH funded moneys.