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Nature 420, 1 (7 November 2002) | doi:10.1038/420001a

Private embryos, public policy

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In the United States, assisted reproduction and embryo research in the private sector have been left largely unregulated, whereas federally funded labs face stringent controls. The distinction makes little sense.

As Nature went to press, US voters were going to the polls for the mid-term elections. Embryo research, stem cells and cloning have not been hot campaign topics.