The Bush administration's delay in issuing a policy on research with material derived from human embryonic stem cells--which may have potential for healing degenerative conditions like Alzheimer's and diabetes--might send some of America's best minds overseas, predicts Harry Griffin, assistant director of the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh, birthplace of Dolly,1 the sheep that has become the living emblem of cloning technologies. UK policymakers already have settled the legality of using human embryonic material for science--allowing scientists to get on with their work. "I'm sure we are going to see a reverse brain drain," the Scottish scientist says.
| Courtesy of The Roslin Institute |
 The Roslin Institute's Harry Griffin (above) predicts a reverse brain drain of US scientists to Europe. |
Haile Debas, dean of the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine and vice chancellor for medical affairs, echoes Griffin's concerns: "If federal support for stem cell research is not forthcoming, ...
