US Stem Cell Researcher Defects to Britain

[Guest guest]

LONDON (Reuters Health) Jul 16 - A leading US stem cell scientist has

defected from California to Great Britain in a reverse " brain drain "

that highlights a transatlantic gulf over the controversial area of

medical research.

Dr. Pedersen, from the University of California, San Francisco,

will take up a lecturing post in the department of surgery at the

University of Cambridge in September, according to a Monday announcement

by the University of Cambridge.

" We anticipate that he will play a significant academic role and

participate in bringing stem cells into use for the treatment of human

diseases, " a spokeswoman said.

Britain earlier this year became the first country in the world to

explicitly legalise cloning of human embryos for stem cell and other

research purposes. The US, by contrast, prohibits federal funding of

research in which a human embryo would be destroyed or placed at risk.

President Bush is due to decide shortly

whether to tighten restrictions on federally funded research.

British academics and biotechnology entrepreneurs said Dr. Pederson's

move to Cambridge — where the original work on deriving embryonic stem

cells from mice was done — showed how research could move from the US if

obstacles became too great.

" If the climate continues to deteriorate in the US and remains stable in

the UK, there may be several more high-profile defections which will put

the UK in a very competitive position, " said , chief

executive of Europe's first listed stem-cell company, ReNeuron Holdings

Plc.

At the moment, US scientists and corporations dominate the emerging

field. But US researchers are worried a tougher government stance could

undermine that lead, since many projects — even if they are mainly

privately funded — rely on some federal money.

Meanwhile, other groups in Israel, Australia and Britain are chasing

hard, according to Dr. Gardner of the University of Oxford, who

chairs the British Royal Society's working group on therapeutic cloning.

" The UK is going to be a more secure environment in which to conduct

most areas of embryo research. I've had calls from four US companies

wanting advice on how they might go about conducting research here, "

said Simon Best, chief executive of Ardana Biosciences in Edinburgh.

" There is quite a serious look by both the academic and business

community in the States into whether to conduct further research on this

side of the Atlantic, " Best added.

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As long as the funny-mentalists don't control the entire world, people

of intellect will continue their research.

Superstition will simply delay the medical benefit to all but the most

affluent US citizens and ensure that the economic benefits are exported.

Bush took an oath to support the US constitution but appears to favor

the will of a foreign state known as the Vatican. In other times, that

would be called treason.

Bob Cruder