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PETBioNewsNewsCall to end EU funding of embryo research

BioNews

Call to end EU funding of embryo research

Published 9 June 2009 posted in News and appears in BioNews 330

Author

BioNews

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).

A group of 73 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) has sent a letter to the commission president Manuel Barroso, calling for an end to EU funding of research using human embryonic stem (ES) cells. The call followed the commission's unveiling of its draft priorities for the next round of...

A group of 73 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) has sent a letter to the commission president Manuel Barroso, calling for an end to EU funding of research using human embryonic stem cells (ES cells). The call followed the commission's unveiling of its draft priorities for the next round of research funding - the Seventh Research Framework Programme (FP7).


Like the previous funding programme, the draft FP7 permits EU funding of ES research involving embryos left over from fertility treatments, donated with the explicit consent of the parents. All stem cell projects have to be approved on a case by case basis, and priority is given to research projects using adult stem cells. EU funding for research into human reproductive cloning or the creation of embryos for research is explicitly forbidden.


The laws on ES cell research vary widely throughout Europe, and the authors of the recent letter argue that Member States that do not permit the research should not have to share the cost of funding it elsewhere. The UK, which currently holds the presidency of the Council of the EU, has announced that it will redraft the FP7 proposal before it is next discussed at the end of November. It recognises that stem cell research is one area where a compromise will need to be reached.


Meanwhile, Newcastle University stem cell researcher Miodrag Stojkovic - who recently announced that he will be leaving the UK for a new position in Spain - has criticised the UK's research funding system. He told the Times Higher Educational Supplement that 'extreme frustration' with the UK's system and 'consequent uncoordinated and second-rate working conditions' lead to his decision to leave the country. He said that although there are plenty of excellent scientists working in the UK, 'all of them are very limited by the fact that they always have to apply for grants that are nothing compared to what is being spent elsewhere'.


Responding to Dr Stojkovic's comments, Michael Whitacker, dean of medical science at Newcastle University, said that although other countries are investing large sums of money in stem cell research, 'we are still a world leader, and the Government has realised that something needs to be done about funding'. The Department of Health has set up the UK Stem Cell Initiative, which, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, is considering increasing the British commitment to stem cell research by £10 million annually. The group is expected to report soon on what needs to be done to maintain the UK's leading position in this area of research.

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Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
CC BY 4.0
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
Comment
18 June 2009 • 3 minutes read

Creating an ethical framework for stem cell research in Europe

by Louise Irving

The use of human stem cells, in particular, embryonic stem (ES) cells, creates many ethical, legal and regulatory issues. The countries of the European Union (EU) are divided as to the legitimacy of the research and the approach to take to regulate it. The Eurostem project, directed by John Harris...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
Comment
18 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

The politics of stem cells in Europe

by Juliet Tizzard

It's been nearly five years since James Thomson and John Gearhart announced, in two separate studies, that they had successfully derived human embryonic stem cells. The breakthrough made possible what had only been a vague hope until then: that scientists would be able to grow stem cells in the laboratory...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

Vatican criticises EU embryo research funding

by Dr Jess Buxton

The European Parliament's approval of funding for some human embryonic stem cell research reflects inequality in how individual countries recognise fundamental rights, according to a Vatican official. Following 19 months of negotiations and 2000 amendments - 700 of which were put to a vote - the 7th Framework...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

Reaction to EU stem cell funding decision

by Dr Jess Buxton

UK physicist Stephen Hawking, who has motor neuron disease, has described the recent decision on European Union (EU) funding for human embryonic stem (ES) cell research as a 'fudge'. Last week, European Ministers agreed the latest draft of Europe's 54.5 billion Euro (£38 billion) 2007-2013...

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).
News
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

European Union agrees to fund limited ES cell research

by Dr Jess Buxton

European Ministers have agreed to fund some human embryonic stem (ES) cell research, in a compromise that bans any work involving the destruction of embryos. However, this would not prevent European funding of 'subsequent steps', the Ministers agreed at a European Council meeting held today. UK...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

EU approves funding for ES cell research

by Dr Jess Buxton

The European parliament has voted to allow European Union (EU) funding for projects involving human embryonic stem (ES) cell research. In the latest stage of the approval for Europe's 2007-2013 research budget, the 7th Framework Programme (FP7), politicians backed the proposal by 284 votes to...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

EU still cannot reach agreement on ES cell funding

by BioNews

Following discussions earlier this week, European Union (EU) research ministers have failed to find a majority opinion on how human embryonic stem cell (ES cell) research should be funded under the Seventh EU Research Framework Programme 2007-2013 (FP7). Because of the lack of agreement among member states, the EU will...

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).
News
9 June 2009 • 1 minute read

Newcastle stem cell professor to leave UK

by BioNews

Stem cell researcher Professor Miodrag Stojkovic, head of the pioneering Newcastle team that was granted the first UK licence to clone human embryos, has announced that he is leaving the UK for a better funded position in Spain. Professor Stojkovic's team worked closely with Professor Alison Murdoch, head of the...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

No increase in EU stem cell funding

by BioNews

The European Commissioner for Science and Research has said that he will not directly increase European Union (EU) funding for human embryonic stem (ES) cell research, even though the money allocated for scientific research as a whole has greatly increased. The proposed Seventh EU Research Framework Programme 2007-2013 (FP7...

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).
News
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

UK group wants £100 million for stem cell research

by BioNews

Leading names from science, industry and government in the UK have publicly called for the establishment of a charitable foundation to promote and fund stem cell research in the country. They made their public call on 8 February, at a meeting for the UK's stem cell research community at Newcastle's...

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