English/Nat Facing a Thursday deadline, U-S scientists wanting to use federal funding for controversial stem cell research have had to apply not knowing if they will be ultimately successful. Medical researchers in the U-S are increasingly worried that President George Bush will follow through on campaign promises to anti-abortion groups and block funding for embryonic stem-cell research. Scientists fear the move could delay the discovery of new treatments for life-threatening aliments, that range from Alzheimers to paralysis. As the Bush administration weighs what decision to take, both sides in the arguement are shoring up their defences in anticipation of a heated battle. Embryonic stem cells, which have a huge potential to become any cell or tissue in the body, are a recently discovered class of cells derived from discarded human embryos and aborted foetuses. They are a kind of nursery cell that can generate a range of cells in the body. For those in the field, like Dr John Gearhart of Johns Hopkins Hospital, it is an exciting area of rapid discoveries and the potential for therapies is only limited by the number of researchers able to work in the laboratories. Utilizing private funding Dr Gearhart, is currently able to work on embryonic stem cells and his research is attracting a lot of attention from the public as well as patient advocacy groups. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Ah, I think we can back it up with by where we are with respect to the experimentation and at the moment I think it is going to be a function of how many investigators can be involved with this work. There are but a few labs in this country that are working on the types of cells we have. With federal funding that has been approved this work will go much more rapidly for many, many different diseases and injuries." SUPER CAPTION: Dr John Gearhart, Stem Cell Research Scientist, Johns Hopkins Hospital At Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, Dr Donald Kohn works on developing therapies for children born with genetic diseases. Fully federally funded Dr Kohn currently is working on using adult bone marrow stem cells, but he is looking towards working with other stem cells. SOUNDBITE: (English) "I think that everyone who does research in this area at the present time, we are holding our breath waiting to see which way the administration will rule. Will they stop all of it, which I think would be the wrong way to go; will they put limits on it which would be reasonable or will it continue? We dont know, but I am certainly concerned about it." SUPER CAPTION: Dr Donald Kohn, Research Scientist, L.A. Childrens Hospital For a vocal minority, those opposed to abortions and any use of foetal tissue, embryonic stem cell is a matter of life and death and they are exerting pressure on the new Bush administration to hold the line. With the approval of the Clinton administration, the U-S National Institutes of Health for the first time formulated guidelines under which scientists using federal funds could bypass a ban on destroying human embryos to work with the stem cells. A key understanding of those guidelines was that as long as the scientists themselves did not create or destroy a human embryo to get the cells, they could use them. Privately funded scientist have culled stem cells from embryos, a process that destroys the embryo, and multiplied those cells in a laboratory setting. The N-I-H funded scientists could only use the lab-grown cell lines. Facing a mid-March application deadline, researchers have been unsure what reception their funding requests will receive in the months ahead with the Republicans now controlling the White House. Dr Larry Goldstein represents the American Society of Cell Biologists. SOUNDBITE: (English) You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/f8f94fd6ab09177b659c9dd0298cc827 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 23 Jul 2015
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