1115.org

The following is a guest post by reader Amy Clark pointing out some things we missed in our Laura Bush STFU!

Public stem cell research has been banned, not private stem cell research in the US. Federal funding via the NIH and NSF have been restricted by the President’s executive directive

Any federal grants that do not use the 60 “diverse” stem cells privately sold, will not be considered for NIH or NSF grants.

Why is this distinction important? This policy has essentially taken all stem cell research into the private sector, and out of public scrutiny and debate. Private companies will most likely not disclose methods or discoveries to the public to protect intellectual property, and charge researchers a premium for rights to the use of such cell lines.

Some institutions are funding grants to continue research, but often there are strings attached to private research dollars, including publication, disclosure, patent rights, and politicization of results.

This is part of a larger question about access to scientific results and peer review as well; when data is restricted (by expensive journal publications/online access), how can other researchers verify the results?

Despite Bush’s reassurances that he’ll keep funding public biomedical
research, his FY2005 budget proposal proposes steep non-military R&D research cuts.

Sound familiar?