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May 23, 2013 Biologists said last week that they had overcome a major obstacle in stem-cell research by cloning human embryos. But several images in the published study were duplicated and labeled incorrectly, prompting questions about the authenticity of the results.

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May 16, 2013 The news that scientists have successfully cloned a human embryo seems almost certain to rekindle a political fight that has raged, on and off, since the creation of Dolly the sheep. It's a fight that has, over the past decade and a half, produced a lot of heat and light and not a lot of policy.

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May 15, 2013 After decades of trying, scientists say they've finally figured out how to make personalized embryonic stem cells. One day, these designer cells may help treat an array of diseases. A jolt of caffeine and and a little electric shock helped to do the trick.

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May 15, 2013 The achievement is a long-sought step toward harnessing the potential power of such cells to treat diseases. But the discovery raises ethical concerns because it brings researchers closer to cloning humans.

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October 8, 2012 John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka discovered that every cell in our body — from skin and heart to brain and lung — can reinvent itself and become any other cell type. These stem cells have vast potential for drug development, for many diseases, like Alzheimer's, muscular dystrophy and diabetes.

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October 4, 2012 For the first time, scientists have created fertile eggs and healthy offspring using embryonic stem cells. The experiments in mice raise the possibility of artificial egg production and new infertility treatments for humans someday.

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August 1, 2012 Three separate teams of scientists have shown that so-called cancer stem cells can be found in brain tumors and early forms of skin and colon cancer. Evidence has been mounting in recent years for the existence of these cells, which are believed to resist standard chemotherapy and fuel the growth of tumors and relapses.

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February 27, 2012 A series of experiments published in the journal Nature Medicine suggest young adult women have primitive stem cells that could generate new eggs. The findings are generating both excitement and questions.

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February 7, 2012 Despite raising millions of dollars for breast cancer research, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation hasn't funded any work involving human embryonic stem cells. Other big disease charities have also shied away from funding such science.

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January 30, 2012 Gingrich has long been a strong backer of federal funding for scientific research. In 2001 his support extended to research on stem cells derived from human embryos left over from in vitro fertilization efforts.

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July 8, 2011 A 36-year-old geology student received a synthetic windpipe created in a laboratory from plastic and his own bone marrow cells. The transplant was needed to replace his natural windpipe, which was being blocked by a fast-growing tumor.

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