Britain reaffirmed its intent to assume the lead in embryonic stem cell research.* When George W. Bush reneged on research funding promised to the National Institutes of Health, Britain reaffirmed its intent to assume the lead in embryonic stem cell Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) are stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of an early stage embryo known as a blastocyst. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4-5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50-150 cells. ES cells are pluripotent. research. For years, stem cell stem cell In living organisms, an undifferentiated cell that can produce other cells that eventually make up specialized tissues and organs. There are two major types of stem cells, embryonic and adult. research has been high on the agenda in the United Kingdom, which passed the Human Fertilization and Embryology embryology Study of the formation and development of an embryo and fetus. Before widespread use of the microscope and the advent of cellular biology in the 19th century, embryology was based on descriptive and comparative studies. Act in 1990, providing comprehensive regulation of in vitro fertilization in vitro fertilization (vē`trō, vĭ`trō), technique for conception of a human embryo outside the mother's body. Several ova, or eggs, are removed from the mother's body and placed in special laboratory culture dishes (Petri dishes); , donated eggs and sperm, and embryo research. While Bush will allow federal funding for only currently obtained lines of stem cells, Britain is establishing a stem cell bank that will eventually provide unlimited numbers of stem cell lines for research. Bush made his decision contrary to the wishes of the majority of U.S. citizens--including 72 percent of U.S. Roman Catholics, nearly half the members of the House of Representatives, and sixty-one senators. |
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