Researchers across the US are awaiting an imminent lift on the current embryonic stem cell research ban. The Obama administration is expected to overturn the policy set forth by former President George W. Bush later this week. Unlike adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells are derived from eggs that have been artificially fertilized in an in vitro fertilization clinic, and then donated for research purposes with informed consent of the donors. Embryonic stem cells can become any of the 220 types of cells in the body, whereas adult stem cells are more limited. Scientists at the University of California, Irvine have already developed a therapy based on embryonic stem cells which made paralyzed rats walk again. Earlier this month they were given federal approval to be the first embryonic stem cell treatment to be tested in humans.
Posts Tagged ‘UC Irvine’
February 3, 2009


Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.