"We know how to spur biomedical research in this country -- we're just not doing it," said Michael Werner, president of the Werner Group, a biomedical research firm, at a panel at the liberal Center for American Progress Wednesday. "The (United States) is not going to be a leader in embryonic stem cell research until that changes."

Many researchers and others believe that research into stem cells holds the promise of new cures for health problems like spinal cord injuries, muscle damage and cancer. Stem cells can be harvested from several sources, including the bone marrow of adults but a prime source of the cells is human embryos.

In 2001, President Bush interpreted language in the bill funding the National Institutes of Health banning the destruction of embryos in federally funded research to mean that the government will only pay for research on one of 21 stem cell lines already in existence.

Since then, researchers have been forced to navigate a hodgepodge of state laws and funding sources. The extra burden may be taking its toll. A recent study by researchers at Stanford University and the University of Michigan found that between 2002 and 2004, the proportion of scholarly articles on stem cell research published by American research teams fell from one-third to one-fourth.

Part of the cause of the relative slowdown is that in other countries with a clearer regulatory framework, researchers do not have to struggle with confusing regulations and uncertain funding, panelists said.

In the United Kingdom, a single body -- the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) -- is charged with coordinating the country's governmental stem cell efforts. At the core is a 1990 parliamentary law which specifically allows for the creation and use of human embryos for research. The authority is charged with updating the law to keep abreast of scientific developments.

The law specifically outlines where embryos can come from and for what purposes they can be used, Angela McNabb, chief executive of the HFEA, said at the panel.

"There is value and respect due to an embryo," she said. "If there are alternatives available, we want researchers to use them."

The fact that the authority's jurisdiction was the result of a parliamentary debate also aided in the public's understanding of stem cell research, she said. "Talk about it. The more you tell people, the less they worry about it, and acceptance follows."

That strategy will have a large payoff next year when the law is up for review, McNabb told United Press International.

"Nobody's going to re-debate (whether) we should allow stem cell research," she said. "The whole regulatory framework is not up for grabs. The (country) believes it's worked well."

In 2005, the government doubled funding of stem cell research to $175 million and has projects planned including a national stem cell bank, and centers of excellence to promote cutting-edge research.

The presence of the HFEA means extra paperwork, said Alison Murdoch, a professor of reproductive medicine who operates a fertility clinic in England, but also means added security, because it clearly spells out the rights of patients and acceptable research practices.

The clinic, which uses embryos leftover from fertility treatments for stem cell research, employs a full-time research nurse whose job it is to discuss the potential research uses of embryos for patients. After several conversations, patients who choose to participate are asked to sign a written consent form.

"The regulatory framework overall is actually in my benefit and to benefits of patients," Murdoch said.

In the United States, researchers must be very careful to make sure their stem cell research efforts are in compliance with state and federal laws, said Joanne Carney, director of the Center for Science, Technology and Congress at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an consortium of scientists' groups which publishes the journal Science.

To make sure no federal funding is used for stem cell research, research institutions must build separate facilities, purchase separate equipment and carefully track staff time, Carney told UPI.

"They have to have very large separations in resources. It makes it very complicated," she said. "The absence of a national policy that allows more flexible access to stem cells is making it more difficult to progress. The research community would have preferred a policy that would have allowed them to do research on stem cell lines regardless of when they had arrived."

American scientists are currently participating in efforts to create global guidelines for the research, but change is unlikely before the 2008 presidential election, she said.

In the meantime, scientists are still managing to do good research in the United States, she added, "The (United States) is still very competitive in this field."

But others feel the current restrictions are not out of line.

"The federal government puts money into stem cell research every year," Matthew Eppinette, assistant director of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, told UPI. "There's never going to be an unlimited number of stem cell lines, and unlimited money."

Given the deep cultural divide regarding the research, it may be more appropriate for scientists to seek available funding in the private sector or from states, which have committed tens of millions of dollars in the past decade.

"Are they just rejecting the idea of limits at all?" he asked. "There's a deep divide in our country."

The limits also place greater emphasis on research using adult stem cells, which -- so far -- has been more successful in creating actual medical treatments, Eppinette said. "Let's put our energy into an area without a huge debate that is already finding ways to heal people."

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