Bad News for hESC Funding?

Some are worried that the judges scheduled to hear arguments on the legality of federal support for human embryonic stem cell research will rule against stem cell funding.

Written byJef Akst

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Human embryonic stem cellsWIKIMEDIA COMMONS, NISSIM BENVENISTY

Two years ago, two researchers filed a case challenging the legality of the National Institutes of Health’s new guidelines on the federal funding of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research. After a temporary halting of the funding that shocked the field, the hold was overturned and the case later dismissed altogether in July. In September, the plaintiffs appealed the ruling. Now, the case is set to be heard by three judges in a federal appeals court next April, and some researchers are concerned that it’s not a sure-win for the NIH.

Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, who appointed by former President George H.W. Bush, voted against the NIH last April, and the other judges assigned to the case—Chief Judge David Sentelle, appointed by Ronald Reagan, and ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
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Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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