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First embryonic stem cells
Embryonic stem cells are first isolated in mice by two groups- Gail Martin at the University of California, San Francisco, and Martin Evans, then with the University of Cambridge. -
University of Wisconsin
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin isolate the first embryonic stem cells in primates - rhesus marcaque monkeys. The research shows it's possible to derive embryonic stem cells from primates, including humans. -
John Hopkins University
Research at the University of Wisconsin and Johns Hopkins University report isolating human embryonic stem cells. The cells have the potential to become any type of cell in the body and might one day be used to replace damaged or cancerous cells. But the process is controversial. One team derived their stem cells from the tissue of aborted fetus: the other from embryos created in the laboratory for couples seeking to get pregnant by in vitro fertillization. -
Stem Cell Research Gains Federal Funding Under Clinton
The National Institutes of Health issue guidelines that allow federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research. Former President Bill Clinton supports the guidelines. -
Federal Funding Is Stopped
The month after taking office, President George W. Bush requests a review of the NIH funding guidelines and puts a hold on federal funds for stem-cell research. -
Federal Funding Is Limited
Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), a vocal abortion opponent, call for limited federal funding for stem-cell research. -
Republicans Oppose Federal Funding
House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and other Republican House leaders come out in opposition to federal funding for research. -
Research Is Threatened Financially
President Bush announces his decision to limit funding to a few dozen lines of embryonic stem cells in existence at that date. Many of the approved lines later prove to be contaminated, and some contain genetic mutations, making them unsuitable for research. -
Cloning embryonic stem cells
Scientists at Advanced Cell Technology in Massachusetts claim to have cloned a human embryo. However, the evidence proves controversial and not conclusive. -
Cloning Embryos
South Korean scientists announce the world's first successfully cloned human embryo. Unlike other past cloning claims, the scientists report their work in a prestigious, peer-reviewed journal, Science. The embryos were cloned not for reproductive purposes but as a source of stem cells. The news reopens the contentious debate over somatic-cell nuclear transfer, which is sometimes referred to as therapeutic cloning. Scientists say cloning offers a unique way to produce cells that may someday be us -
9.5 million salary in New Jersey
New Jersey legislators pass a state budget that includes $9.5 million for a newly chartered Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. The move makes New Jersey the first state to fund research on stem cells, including those derived from human embryos -
Proposition 71
California voters approve Proposition 71, which authorizes the state to spend $3 billion on embryonic stem-cell research over 10 years. The measure is a response to federal funding restrictions put into place in 2001. It puts California ahead of the federal government and many other nations in promoting the research -
South Korea
The same South Korean researchers who reported cloning a human embryo in 2004 announce another milestone: They say they've created a streamlined process that uses far fewer human eggs to produce usable embryonic stem cells — a major step toward mass production. Their work is published in Science -
Bill Passes
The House passes a bill that would ease President Bush's restrictions on federal funding for stem-cell research. -
Senate
A version of the bill passed in the House is introduced in the Senate. Among Senate sponsors of the bill are two prominent Republicans, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. Their support comes despite President Bush's promise to veto any legislation lifting the restrictions on funding he put in place on Aug. 9, 2001 -
Conneticut
Connecticut approves $100 million in funding for adult and embryonic stem-cell research over the next 10 years -
Ban human cloning
Gov. M. Jodi Rell signs a public act that permits stem-cell research and bans human cloning. The act appropriates $20 million for conducting embryonic or human adult stem-cell research. -
Institute
Bypassing the Illinois state legislature, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich creates a stem-cell research institute by executive order. The institute will be funded through a line item in the state budget that gives the Public Health Department $10 million to fund research. -
President Bush
In defiance of President Bush, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) announces his support of legislation to ease federal funding restrictions for stem-cell research -
Injection
Scientists in California report that injecting human neural stem cells appeared to repair spinal cords in mice. The therapy helped partially paralyzed mice walk again -
funds
Advocates of embryonic stem-cell research in Florida propose a ballot initiative that would give $200 million in state funds toward the research over the next decade. Two days later, opponents of the science file a petition to amend Florida's state constitution to ban state funding for embryonic stem-cell research -
University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh researcher Gerald Schatten alerts editors at the journal Science that there may have been ethical lapses in a landmark cloning paper published in February 2004. In that paper, South Korean scientists claimed they had made an embryonic stem-cell line from a cloned human embryo. Schatten alleged that some of the egg donors in that study had been paid, and some were junior colleagues of the lead author, Hwang Woo Suk. Schatten also says there were minor technical errors in -
South Korea
South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk is charged with fraud, embezzlement and violating the country's laws on bioethics. He faces up to 13 years in prison. In 2004, Hwang and his research team claimed they had created the world's first cloned embryos and extracted stem cells from them. An investigation concluded the research was fabricated -
Technique
Scientists unveil a new technique they claim could break the political deadlock over human embryonic stem cells. Researchers with the company Advanced Cell Technology say it's possible to remove a cell from an embryo without harming the embryo and then grow the cell in a lab dish. That single cell ccould then be used to derive embryonic stem cells -
Bill passed
The House of Representatives is expected to pass a bill that would expand federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, but the bill won't carry enough votes to override a threatened presidential veto. Both the House and the Senate passed the same legislation last year, with President Bush vetoing the bill -
California
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announces an agreement between the University of California at Berkeley and Canada's International Regulome Consortium to coordinate stem-cell research at both institutions. The Ontario Institute of Cancer Research donates the first $30 million to fund a Cancer Stem Cell Consortium to advance work on potential cancer treatments. -
clone
Scientists for the first time successfully clone embryos from the cells of an adult monkey and derive stem cells from those cloned embryos. The Oregon National Primate Research Center researchers report their work in the journal Nature
