Stem Cell Lawsuit Back Again As expected, the plaintiffs in a law suit claiming that federally funded research on human embryonic stem cells is illegal have appealed a ruling that dealt them a defeat earlier this summer. [U.S. Appeals Court, United States] Press Release Senate Plan Gives NSF a Choice on Facilities vs. Research A Senate proposal that would reduce next year’s budget for the National Science Foundation (NSF) by $162 million includes unprecedented flexibility for the agency to decide how best to spend a portion of that shrinking pot of money. [U.S. Senate, United States] Press Release Republicans Seek to Prioritize Stem Cell Research Programs Republican Randy Forbes introduced legislation that seeks to focus federal stem cell research in areas that show “evidence of providing clinical benefit for human patients,” and promote research that does not involve the creation of or damage to human embryos. [Republicans, United States] Press Release U.K. Masks Cuts to Science By Redefining ‘Science Budget’ Despite promises by the U.K. government last year that its science budget would stay level between 2010 and 2015, a new analysis concludes that the government has masked cuts by redefining what is and isn’t included in its science budget. [U.K. Government, United Kingdom] Press Release French Bioethics Law Addresses Embryonic Research France passed a law on bioethics on July 7 called Loi du 7 juillet 2011. The law, which addresses several major areas of bioethics, above all confronts the question of what legal framework applies to research on human embryos and embryonic stem cells. [French Government, France] Press Release South Korea Sets Sights on Becoming Stem Cell Powerhouse, Again South Korea’s president vowed on a series of regulatory reforms to help regain its place as a stem cell research powerhouse, trying to reclaim momentum five years after a cloning scandal. [South Korea’s President, South Korea] Press Release |