The life-and-death question is whether these efforts and the largesse of Eli Broad and other patrons of science will be enough to let the U.S. lead the stem-cell revolution.
Dr Reynolds, and others, have shown that under the influence of suitable growth factors, stem cells can lead full lives in a test tube.
In recent months, the U.S. Patent Office has put into motion proceedings that could lead key patents on embryonic stem cells to be struck down, meaning that companies that do research on the cells would not give up a share of future profits on their inventions.
Scientists believe stem cell research could lead to treatment of diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and diabetes.
Scientists hope human embryonic stem cell research will lead to treatments and cures for many diseases, including diabetes, Alzheimer's and spinal cord injuries.
Whether those risks stem from smoking, lead exposure or the increasing use of fossil fuels, scientists will always work to increase knowledge and reduce uncertainty.
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A. Scientists hope that stem cell research will lead to cures for such diseases as heart disease, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, and perhaps even spinal cord regeneration, to name a few.
He hopes the findings will increase understanding of leprosy and lead to new ways of developing stem cells - which have been touted as future treatments for a range of diseases.
Mr Obama repeated the claims of some scientists that embryonic stem cell research could lead to a cure for a whole host of diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and diabetes and that it could even help someone who is paralysed to walk again.
She was also named to help lead the White House national program on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) in November 2009.
Already as an undergraduate, Ivan did stem-cell research that could lead to new cancer treatments.
Research involving human embryonic stem cells and human non-embryonic stem cells has the potential to lead to better understanding and treatment of many disabling diseases and conditions.
Someday the ability to measure the level of stem cells in a tumor could lead to new prognostic tests that predict when a cancer is likely to accelerate, helping doctors customize treatment.
Other proponents of stem cell research reject using clones for such purposes, but the potential has led opponents of embryonic stem cell research to warn that federal funding could lead to wider cloning experimentation.
Scientists and even some anti-abortion rights Republicans are urging the president to finance experiments on stem cells from human embryos, charging the research could lead to revolutionary treatments for diseases such as Parkinson's, diabetes and some forms of cancer.
Dr Lorenz Studer, head of the Stem Cell and Tumor Biology Laboratory at the centre, and the lead researcher on the study, told BBC News Online that the study was "proof of principle" that cloned embryonic stem cells could be reliably transformed into a variety of useful cell types.
The lead company developing the cells as treatments, Geron, just recently started the very first trial of embryonic stem cells in humans, to treat spinal cord injury.
Researchers also hope that stem cell research will provide them with more information about human development and the causes of disease, and lead to changes in the development and testing of drugs.
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