Federal officials are proposing to end a moratorium on funding for research that involves transplanting human stem cells into animal embryos, a controversial practice that produces organisms know as "chimeras." The agency will continue its ban on funding research that would include breeding of animals that could make human eggs or sperm. Stem cells can become any kind of human tissue, including organs. NIH would consider funding studies proposed by its own investigators as well as research by others outside of the Bethesda, Md., campus, she said. [A cure for AIDS is no longer unthinkable]Animals have long been used in research on human cells, often as part of testing drugs that might attack disease.

Source: Washington Post August 05, 2016 17:16 UTC