A New Stem Cell Era

Stem-cell researchers around the country are celebrating President Obama's decision to reverse restrictions on embyronic stem-cell research, a move they say could lead to dramatic advances in the understanding and treatment of conditions like diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer's. For years, scientists have been frustrated by the restrictions imposed by President George W. Bush in 2001. Bush's policy was intended to be a compromise: it banned the use of federal funds for the creation of new embryonic stem-cell lines while allowing scientists to study 21 lines that had already been created. But researchers say those lines aren't diverse enough and they have been eager to study hundreds of other lines, some of which contain specific genetic mutations for diseases like Parkinson's. There have been practical challenges as well. The restrictions forced scientists to use different lab equipment for privately funded and government-funded research; some even built entirely separate lab space. One of the most disconcerting aspects, researchers say, has been the negative effect on collaboration, a hallmark of the scientific process. Researchers supported by private money haven't been able to team up with scientists funded by the government, potentially holding back new insights and advances.

 All that is likely to change under Obama's executive order, issued Monday. Already, major progress has been made: earlier this year, the FDA approved the first clinical trial of embryonic stem cells in the United States. The biotech company Geron will test embryonic stem cells, derived from a government-approved line, against spinal-cord injuries. Now, scientists say they can build on the work they've accomplished during the Bush-policy era, take it in different directions and learn from one another in whole new ways. None of this, however, will put an end to the controversy. Longstanding critics deride the use of embryos for medical research, and they're letting the administration know that they're unhappy. House Republican leader John Boehner put it this way: "The question is whether taxpayer dollars should be used to subsidize the destruction of precious human life. Millions of Americans strongly oppose that, and rightfully so."

Claudia Kalb talked to Amy Comstock Rick, CEO of the Parkinson's Action Network and president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR), a group formed in 2001 to advocate for embryonic stem-cell research. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: How are you feeling?
Amy Comstock Rick: I am very excited, very happy and very grateful to all the patient advocates and researchers who've kept this issue in the forefront for the last eight years. That is why it's a priority issue for this administration—because people kept the issue going. I'm grateful to the researchers who have continued to do research in this field even though it's been tough. The field could have floundered after the Bush policy. While it didn't move as quickly as it could have, it did move forward.

Take us back to Bush in 2001. 

At the time, it seemed like a compromise position, but pretty soon it became clear that it wasn't going to be enough to allow promising research. There has been some commitment of private funds and state funds since then, but not enough.

What kind of restrictions have scientists been up against?
If you talk to some of the scientists, you hear absurd stories. One guy has green dots on the things in his lab that are federally funded and red dots on the privately funded equipment. That shows you how crazy it is. You have post docs or young researchers in a lab next door who could benefit by learning what's going on, but they can't if they're on federal training grants and that's how they're paid. So it's been holding science back.