More funding for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research should have researchers jumping for joy. But it's left many scratching their heads, reports Monya Baker, editor of Nature Reports Stem Cells, on The Niche blog (http://go.nature.com/zESIXc).

In late September, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that it would begin screening applications from researchers to determine which hESC lines are eligible for NIH funding. This left a wake of concern and confusion. Should researchers in possession of lines derived by others seek approval for them? What about older cell lines that were not derived following the NIH's strict guidelines of informed consent, published in July? (See http://stemcells.nih.gov/policy/2009guidelines.htm.)

In her post, Baker addresses these and other areas of concern, and provides a link to the draft list of cell lines that have already been submitted to the NIH. She also warns that private organizations and individual states, which are free to fund research with hESC lines not approved by the NIH, “may prove reluctant to award funds to material lacking such approval”.