German opposition pushes adult stem cell research:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The German Christian Democratic and Socialist Union Parties (CDU/CSU) are pressing for Germany to become a leading nation in researching adult stem cells. They are putting forward proposals to set aside E5m ($5.3m) in the federal budget to this end. In contrast to embryonic stem cells, research with adult stem cells, gathered either from umbilical cord blood or bone marrow, does not have the same ethical stigma attached to it, say the parties. Germany's recent moves to import embryonic stem cells for research purposes from Israel has come under fire from German and Israeli academics and politicians (see this issue, p 8).