The race is on: human embryonic stem cell research goes global.
More nations are joining the human embryonic stem cell (hESC) "race" by aggressively publishing in the peer-reviewed journals. Here we present data on the international use and distribution of hESC using a dataset taken from the primary research literature. We extracted these papers from a comprehensive dataset of articles using hESC and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC). We find that the rate of publication by US-based authors is slowing in comparison to international labs, and then declines over the final year of the period 2008-2010. Non-US authors published more frequently and at a significantly higher rate, significantly increasing the number of their papers. In addition, international labs use a more diverse set of hESC lines and Obama-era additions are used more in non-US locations. Even considering the flood of new lines in the US and abroad, we see that researchers continue to rely on a few lines derived before the turn of the century. These data suggest "embargo" effects from restrictive policies on the US stem cell field. Over time, non-US labs have freely used lines on the US registries, while federally funded US scientists have been limited to using those lines approved by the NIH.
Program on Stem Cells in Society, Stanford University Center for Biomedical Ethics, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. mchebert@gmail.com
Mindy C
MC
DeRouen
Jennifer B
JB
McCormick
Jason
J
Owen-Smith
Christopher Thomas
CT
Scott
D026688:Bioethical Issues; D001675:Bioethics; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells; D006801:Humans; D057026:Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D014481:United States