Stem cell research has dominated the news for several weeks running, a remarkable event. Currently, no federal money can be used to pay for cell biology research that destroys a human embryo. Such research is legal using other money.

The key public policy issues include federal funding for research that involves human embryos, and funding for research that involves cells, tissue or organs derived from human embryos. A major point of contention is the legal and moral status of fertilized eggs, embryos, and fetuses.

With Dolly Technology, another point of contention is what would be the legal and moral status of cells that by taking the nucleus out of an egg cell and then putting in a nucleus from a cell derived from an adult human.

Animals ranging from mice to cattle to monkeys have been cloned by this procedure. So far, no human is known to have been so cloned, but at least two groups have stated their intention to use Dolly Technology to clone a human.

Furthermore, a Massachusetts company announced this month it plans to use Dolly Technology not to produce a baby but to generate a source of tissues and possibly organs that would be a genetic match for the person who donates the original cell. Such tissues would in theory reduce the possibility of tissue rejection or organ rejection, since the same person both donates the original cells and receives the cells, tissues or organs developed from the donated cell.

At least one bill introduced in the House would ban all Dolly Technology research in humans, including research not for procreation but rather to grow cells into tissues for transplant back to the original donor.

Another competing bill would permit research for tissue transplant but not for procreation. The National Institutes of Health in early July released a report on research and use of stem cells http://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/scireport.htm (note: link no longer working, June 30, 2005)