The Glade 4.0

IN a victory for President Barack Obama's administration, a US federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that had temporarily blocked federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
Judge Royce Lamberth's summary judgment followed an appeals court decision in April that also ruled against the plaintiffs who argued it was illegal to use taxpayer cash for research that destroys human embryos.

Mr Obama lifted a ban on federal funding for the research in March 2009. His predecessor George W Bush had blocked government funding for human embryonic stem cell research on new cell lines, citing religious grounds.

At issue in the latest court fight was a 1996 amendment to a US law called the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, which barred using taxpayer funds in research that destroys human embryos.

In August 2010, Judge Lamberth, of the US district court, took up a court challenge brought by two scientists who opposed the research and issued an order to ban federal funding until the legal battle could be resolved.

A series of court decisions followed that temporarily lifted his ban. The overnight decision by Judge Lamberth dismisses the case.

"Having carefully considered the motions, oppositions, replies, supplemental briefing, the entire record in this case, and the applicable law, the Court will grant defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment and deny plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment," Judge Lamberth wrote in his ruling.

The decision was immediately hailed by the National Institutes of Health, which allocated about $US40 million ($36.66 million) to human embryonic stem cell research in 2010 and has set aside $US125 million ($114.57 million) this year - a tiny fraction of its $US31 billion ($28.41 billion) budget.

"We are pleased with today's ruling. Responsible stem cell research has the potential to develop new treatments and ultimately save lives," said NIH director Francis Collins. "This ruling will help ensure this groundbreaking research can continue to move forward."

The American Association for the Advancement of Science, an international non-profit group which publishes the prestigious journal Science, also applauded the move.

"The scientific consensus is that embryonic stem cell research is an extremely promising approach to developing more effective diagnostics and treatments for devastating conditions such as diabetes, spinal cord injuries and Parkinson's disease," said chief executive Alan Leschner.

"Judge Lamberth's injunction last year threatened to cause real harm to researchers in this field and discourage the next generation of stem cell scientists."