DFG seeks to clarify stem cell rules

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日期: 2003-07-23 今日/总浏览: 1/567! \3 y% q1 {" I& N
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Germanstemcellresearchersmayfindamorefavorableresearchenvironmentabroad,buttheyshouldbecarefuliftheyholdaprofessorship,accordingtoareportduenextmonth.; f0 O' H/ m/ l
Germanstemcellresearchersfaceaconfusinglegalsituation.Inanattempttoclarifymatters,theGermanResearchFoundation(DFG)commissionedanopinionfromlegalexpertsbasedatalawfirminBonnandattheMaxPlanckInstitute(MPI)forForeignandInternationalCriminalLawinFreiburg.TheDFGannouncedtheresultslastweek.
/ N; E2 w! R) YStemcellregulationsinGermanyhavelongbeencriticizedforbeingtoostringent.TheproductionofnewhumanembryonicstemcelllinesisillegalinGermany.TheexperimentaluseofhumanembryonicstemcellsisrestrictedtocelllinesgeneratedbeforeJanuary1,2002,fromsurplusembryosresultingfrominfertilitytreatment.Researchinvolvingsuchexistingstemcelllinesrequirestheapprovalofanationalreviewcommittee.6 Q5 m0 x5 B, {8 W$ t( b8 O
Althoughthemoralitybehindthisregulationmaybecontradictory,themessagetoscientistsisclear:IfIwereyoungandwantedtoworkwith[humanembryonic]stemcells,IwouldaskmyselfwhetherGermanyistherightplacetobe,saidHerbertJäckle,whoisdirectoroftheMPIforBiophysicalChemistryinGöttingenandworkswithstemcellsderivedfromDrosophilaembryos.Theworldhasbecomesointernational,whydoesithavetobeGermany?
9 F6 H3 r0 _% m+ p% u" K1 U) ?ButhowfardoesthelongarmofGermanlawreach?DoGermanscommitacriminaloffenceiftheymoveabroadandderivehumanembryonicstemcellsinanothercountry?Oriftheysimplycollaboratewithcolleaguesabroadwhoseworkinvolvesthegenerationofhumanstemcelllines?OnemightevenaskwhetheritisacrimeforaGermanscientisttositontheadvisoryboardofaninternationalcompany,ortobeonthepeerreviewcommitteeofaforeignresearchcouncil,andtoadviseonthefundingofprojectsinvolvingthederivationofnewstemcelllines?$ y2 _$ q1 c+ }1 N; M2 y# ]) {1 k2 h
Accordingtothelegalexpertsconsultedforthisreport,theanswertoallthesequestionsisYes—ifthescientistisauniversityprofessor.AsHans-GeorgKochattheMPIinFreiburgexplained,researchinvolvingthederivationofnewstemcelllinesfromhumanembryosisregulatedbytheFederalEmbryoProtectionAct,whichisbasedontheconstitutionalmandatetoprotectallhumanlife.Inouropinion,theembryonicprotectionlawisalsoapplicableabroadiftheoffenderisaGermanpublicservantactingduringorinconnectionwithhisorherduties,KochtoldTheScientist.(AlluniversityprofessorsinGermanyarepublicservants.)
9 r! ]( c) Z% |( GThesituationisdifferentifscientistswishtoworkwithexistinghumanstemcelllinesbecausethistypeofresearchisregulatedbytheGermanStemCellAct.Accordingtothereport,regulationscoveringexistingstemcelllinesareonlyapplicabletoresearchconductedonGermansoil.Germanscientists,includingpublicservants,maythereforegetinvolvedinforeignprojectsormaythemselvesconductprojectsabroadthatuseexistinghumanstemcelllines,eveniftheywerederivedbeforethecutoffdateofJanuary1,2002(providedthatlocallawpermitsthistypeofresearch).3 {2 B2 q% l1 W4 d
ToJäckle,thisisallconfusing.Iamconvincedthatotherinterpretationsofthelawarepossible.Ican'timaginethatI,asapublicservant,amnotallowedtodosomethingthatmycoworkermaydoanytime.4 g8 z7 _% W: O# @/ Q$ Y/ T
Hebelievesinterpretingthecurrentlegalsituationpersewon'tbeveryhelpful.Thereshouldbeadecisiontodiscussthismatteragain.WehavetocometoaclearethicalandmoralstandpointinGermany,andwehavetoapplyitconsistently,hesaid.* p& g5 g- {0 l; k

2 m5 i2 A, Z  ]! z* i" o2 F. x* SLinksforthisarticle# N+ I% O0 l$ C, s% t2 W" W
GermanResearchFoundation
8 n# c1 K; K7 ehttp://www.dfg.de/en/index.html. C& _* V) X% y& @/ y# g& c& y
RedekerSellnerDahs&Widmaier
" W# L3 f0 r9 G, h0 m$ R5 hhttp://www.redeker.de/
$ F8 B0 ]1 \7 ^, RMaxPlanckInstituteforForeignandInternationalCriminalLaw
1 F% I6 U# e0 m) qhttp://www.iuscrim.mpg.de/iuscrim_e.html5 g/ l+ `# W+ b& L+ i
MaxPlanckInstituteforBiophysicalChemistry7 q+ o% J9 z5 j# P: K0 y
http://www.mpibpc.gwdg.de/index_en.html
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' f9 G7 ?6 a* S$ J6 y作者: Martina Habeck
; ^- y2 ~5 T1 G! m来源: The Scientist
5 O- p, K- l% U( L% J4 D发布者: 亦云