German Research Foundation's new stem-cell research proposals

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Council) has issued proposals to revise Germany's 2002 Stem Cell Act, arguing that the existing rules restrict German researchers from working on international projects and restricting access to new cell lines.

The DFG's three recommendations are: first, that the key date regulation should be revoked and German researchers allowed to access new stem-cell lines that are produced outside Germany, provided these originate from surplus embryos. Second, new cells lines should be permitted in Germany, provided these are for diagnostic, preventative or therapeutic uses. Third, German scientists should be free from the threat of penalties and the Stem Cell Act's jurisdiction should be limited to Germany itself.

The DFG did, however, repeat its opposition to reproductive cloning. The agency believes that "alternative methods should be researched," because the basic cytobiological processes of early cell development "have not yet been adequately explained."