National Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Obstructed

Last week, a ruling by federal Judge Royce C. Lamberth left many human embryonic stem cell (hESC) researchers not only scrambling for funding and concerned about the future of their own research, but also concerned for the future of the whole field in this country. Lamberth, chief judge of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, ruled that federal money cannot be used to fund hESC research.

Although earlier this week the Justice Department moved to appeal Lamberth’s ruling, it may be some time before the situation is sorted out, during which valuable, life-saving research will be delayed. To understand this controversial ruling, both how it came about and its implications moving forward, it’s important to take a look at the history, biologically and politically, of hESCs in the U.S.

How Are hESCs Generated? In 1998, a group led by Dr. James Thomson, who holds faculty appointments at the University of Wisconsin and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), isolated embryonic stem cell from humans for the first time. Specifically, these cells are isolated from four- or five-day-old embryos called “blastocysts.”