This morning, a group of panelists issued a call to action to a standing-room-only crowd at the American Society for Cell Biology's 47th Annual Meeting: Scientists must get involved in policy issues, and they have to start now. The session - which included scientists, a congressional staffer, and other advocates - focused on linkurl:how scientists can become involved;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/53611/ in advocating for federal dollars for embryonic stem cell research. It's an urgent need, the panelists noted: Since the recent linkurl:discovery of factors;http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/23254/ that appear to convert adult human cells into pluripotent cells, opponents of ESC work have stepped up their game, saying the new findings make embryonic work unnecessary. This finding has changed the playing field for ESC work, said Erik Fatemi, staffer for Senator Tom Harkin (who supports expanded federal funding). A few weeks ago, Fatemi said, he believed that every US presidential candidate would reverse current President George...
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