DFG seeks to clarify stem cell rules

bobo

日期: 2003-07-23 今日/总浏览: 1/567* ?9 q5 W8 d) X" H' L/ h4 n
% {5 S6 I8 Z1 B. _9 A6 }

. t$ y8 h* a4 b. R
3 a: A' C0 W2 x% Q5 h3 @  j
) C1 Z4 ]/ n6 H: m+ t# q( aGermanstemcellresearchersmayfindamorefavorableresearchenvironmentabroad,buttheyshouldbecarefuliftheyholdaprofessorship,accordingtoareportduenextmonth.
% R. m! Z9 |& S- V4 FGermanstemcellresearchersfaceaconfusinglegalsituation.Inanattempttoclarifymatters,theGermanResearchFoundation(DFG)commissionedanopinionfromlegalexpertsbasedatalawfirminBonnandattheMaxPlanckInstitute(MPI)forForeignandInternationalCriminalLawinFreiburg.TheDFGannouncedtheresultslastweek.2 S9 ?  n6 V# H9 T+ W' x! c8 c
StemcellregulationsinGermanyhavelongbeencriticizedforbeingtoostringent.TheproductionofnewhumanembryonicstemcelllinesisillegalinGermany.TheexperimentaluseofhumanembryonicstemcellsisrestrictedtocelllinesgeneratedbeforeJanuary1,2002,fromsurplusembryosresultingfrominfertilitytreatment.Researchinvolvingsuchexistingstemcelllinesrequirestheapprovalofanationalreviewcommittee., e/ l7 ]2 R3 u- X8 t, ^& j
Althoughthemoralitybehindthisregulationmaybecontradictory,themessagetoscientistsisclear:IfIwereyoungandwantedtoworkwith[humanembryonic]stemcells,IwouldaskmyselfwhetherGermanyistherightplacetobe,saidHerbertJäckle,whoisdirectoroftheMPIforBiophysicalChemistryinGöttingenandworkswithstemcellsderivedfromDrosophilaembryos.Theworldhasbecomesointernational,whydoesithavetobeGermany?
0 A  P, F* b/ H3 z# BButhowfardoesthelongarmofGermanlawreach?DoGermanscommitacriminaloffenceiftheymoveabroadandderivehumanembryonicstemcellsinanothercountry?Oriftheysimplycollaboratewithcolleaguesabroadwhoseworkinvolvesthegenerationofhumanstemcelllines?OnemightevenaskwhetheritisacrimeforaGermanscientisttositontheadvisoryboardofaninternationalcompany,ortobeonthepeerreviewcommitteeofaforeignresearchcouncil,andtoadviseonthefundingofprojectsinvolvingthederivationofnewstemcelllines?
. s; v" o" h/ n/ L, IAccordingtothelegalexpertsconsultedforthisreport,theanswertoallthesequestionsisYes—ifthescientistisauniversityprofessor.AsHans-GeorgKochattheMPIinFreiburgexplained,researchinvolvingthederivationofnewstemcelllinesfromhumanembryosisregulatedbytheFederalEmbryoProtectionAct,whichisbasedontheconstitutionalmandatetoprotectallhumanlife.Inouropinion,theembryonicprotectionlawisalsoapplicableabroadiftheoffenderisaGermanpublicservantactingduringorinconnectionwithhisorherduties,KochtoldTheScientist.(AlluniversityprofessorsinGermanyarepublicservants.)9 q; n* \' _0 g; I8 Q0 l
ThesituationisdifferentifscientistswishtoworkwithexistinghumanstemcelllinesbecausethistypeofresearchisregulatedbytheGermanStemCellAct.Accordingtothereport,regulationscoveringexistingstemcelllinesareonlyapplicabletoresearchconductedonGermansoil.Germanscientists,includingpublicservants,maythereforegetinvolvedinforeignprojectsormaythemselvesconductprojectsabroadthatuseexistinghumanstemcelllines,eveniftheywerederivedbeforethecutoffdateofJanuary1,2002(providedthatlocallawpermitsthistypeofresearch).
5 b6 B6 j+ V& q. @4 K+ VToJäckle,thisisallconfusing.Iamconvincedthatotherinterpretationsofthelawarepossible.Ican'timaginethatI,asapublicservant,amnotallowedtodosomethingthatmycoworkermaydoanytime.+ {* Q# \  e- J: J; y5 z6 v3 J
Hebelievesinterpretingthecurrentlegalsituationpersewon'tbeveryhelpful.Thereshouldbeadecisiontodiscussthismatteragain.WehavetocometoaclearethicalandmoralstandpointinGermany,andwehavetoapplyitconsistently,hesaid.# i. g& s- X, p  R2 y: D+ ?2 _

3 a/ G* N1 v8 n) \. `# xLinksforthisarticle
  C7 k2 a& U% K# x# d" f8 _1 l) t0 E# @GermanResearchFoundation7 O" y3 ]5 j8 }/ q# x/ i! m
http://www.dfg.de/en/index.html
- a" ]/ g5 L" f- e% j% X1 Q. D8 TRedekerSellnerDahs&Widmaier
  ]7 W0 X, C5 f* S3 U) W5 |# Z& jhttp://www.redeker.de// W, \8 ?- v, {# |7 `
MaxPlanckInstituteforForeignandInternationalCriminalLaw2 |2 j( t" T! b3 q4 f1 B7 {) e$ ~
http://www.iuscrim.mpg.de/iuscrim_e.html
, u# h2 I. N" o& z6 B* R9 \MaxPlanckInstituteforBiophysicalChemistry
' Q4 ~! N0 J# L) y0 ~. p% H0 rhttp://www.mpibpc.gwdg.de/index_en.html
( v) J- X7 i! q6 a+ h6 l
% e1 C: H4 e- X6 b$ L! {  J  Y0 P. J* c* y. b

, S$ V4 w5 ^& s
# |) y$ l7 e! X" j6 y/ Z# p' c
$ {: j+ U, \; {2 d" `% K  S) u作者: Martina Habeck1 X; _0 v" W. B0 d/ p8 G, `. ^
来源: The Scientist
6 a( C# }" t9 g  v# h2 Z) W3 |发布者: 亦云