Stem cells taken from amniotic fluid can be transformed into a more versatile state similar to embryonic stem cells and may offer an alternative to the medically valuable but controversial cells, scientists said on Tuesday. more

A clinical trial of ALS patients conducted by BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics shows its adult stem cell therapy is well-tolerated, appears to be safe and does not present undue risk, according to an interim safety review. more

U.S. researchers have begun a groundbreaking trial to test the potential of umbilical cord blood transplants, a kind of stem cell therapy, to treat and possibly reverse hearing loss in infants. more

Procedures that involve human embryonic stem cells cannot be patented, the European Court of Justice declared today. more

Last August, Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan-appointed trial judge in DC, suspended all federal funding for embryonic stem cell (ESC) research — a decision which limits such research in a way that even President George W. Bush found untenable. Today, … Continue reading →

Advanced Cell Technology said on Monday it had won U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to try out human embryonic stem cells for treating macular degeneration, a common cause of vision loss. more

Though the world’s attention has focused on Iran’s advancing nuclear program, Iranian scientists have moved to the forefront in embryonic stem cell research, according to a recent joint study by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Controversial in … Continue reading →

South Korea has been reluctant to support local scientists for research into cloned human stem cells. However, with the new U.S. government deciding to lift the country’s restrictions on federal funding for new stem cell research, Korean regulators are feeling … Continue reading →

Guidelines proposed by the National Institutes of Health to carry out an order made last month by President Obama would allow research with federal financing only on stem cells derived from surplus embryos at fertility clinics. The money would still … Continue reading →

Deriving a stem cell line from a cloned human embryo still represents one of the most formidable scientific barriers in biology. Challenged with deep ethical questions, misled by high-profile research fraud, and obfuscated in the eyes of the public, it’s … Continue reading →