The world's main funding agencies for stem cell research have agreed on a broad programme of international collaboration. Priorities include training and techniques to assess the quality of different cell lines. The nine agencies held their first joint meeting in London on Wednesday under the auspices of Britain's Medical Research Council. Singapore, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Israel and the US were represented. "I was amazed by the enthusiasm of everyone at the meeting to work together," said Sir George Radda, MRC chief executive. "This has been a very constructive day for international scientific collaboration." Stem cells are immature cells with the potential to develop into a wide range of specialised cells and tissues, which could be used to treat degenerative diseases or transplanted to replace damaged organs. Because the most versatile stem cells originate in human embryos, the field is controversial. It is vehemently opposed by people who believe on religious grounds that the embryo is a
living human being from the moment of conception. One international working group will look at the best ways to characterise the world's limited supply of stem cell lines. "We want to optimise the use of cell lines, look at quality control issues and decide how the best ones should be made available for research around the world," Sir George said. Another group will draw up an "ethical map" of the world. This will show the legal and ethical framework within which stem cell research can take place in each country. A key issue identified at the meeting was the acute worldwide shortage of scientists trained to work with stem cells. As a first step, a training website will be set up. Although all the countries represented at the London meeting have substantial stem cell research programmes, Sir George said it appeared from the information presented that Singapore was most advanced. Researchers in Singapore were the first to produce pure human stem cells, free of the mouse "feeder cells" until now required to
nourish them.