Gov't OKs 1st project for growing human stem cells in Japan.

Japan Science Scan, April, 2002

TOKYO, March 27 Kyodo

Japan on Wednesday sanctioned for the first time a research proposal for domestically growing human embryonic stem cells by granting approval to a Kyoto University team's plan to harvest such cells from fertilized ova in vitro that were left unused in fertility treatment.

The panel of the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry gave the green light to the research project by a team led by Norio Nakatsuji at the university's Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences.

Embryonic stem cells, believed to be capable of generating nerves, cardiac muscles and liver tissue, are expected to play a crucial role in helping regenerate damaged organs and tissue but research on such cells could also pose some...