Deposit Your Stem-Cell Hopes Here

July 15, 2004 | Source: AP

The government plans to open a “national bank” to better grow the only embryonic stem cells eligible for government-funded research, holding firm against critics who want Bush administration restrictions on the controversial cells lifted.

In addition, the National Institutes of Health plans to spend $18 million over four years to establish three “centers of excellence” to speed research on the currently available cell lines.

The proposals don’t satisfy critics who say President Bush’s policy is stifling groundbreaking research, particularly by limiting to just a few the number of cell lines available to study.