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Nature 418, 25-27 (4 July 2002) | doi:10.1038/418025a

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Biomedicine: Stem-cell competition

Stuart H. Orkin1 & Sean J. Morrison2

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The debate continues over the relative merits of using embryonic and adult stem cells for research — and perhaps, one day, to treat patients. Two new papers look at the abilities of these remarkable cells.

Last August tiny cells in Petri dishes captivated primetime television audiences. In a carefully worded address, US President George Bush discussed the medical potential, risks and ethics of studying human embryonic stem (ES) cells.

  1. Stuart H. Orkin is at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
    e-mail: Email: stuart_orkin@dfci.harvard.edu
  2. Sean J. Morrison is at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Departments of Internal Medicine and Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
    e-mail: Email: seanjm@umich.edu