EVEN before the appointment of a presidential science adviser there are signs of a key policy change. During a television interview, John Podesta, co-chair of the Obama transition team, made it clear that stem cell restrictions are among the Bush-era executive orders that Obama is now reviewing (see “Obama moves swiftly to repair stem cell damage”).
Such orders do not require congressional approval, so a momentous change for US stem cell researchers could come at the stroke of a pen. This could ramp up the US competition faced by rival teams abroad, not least those who have benefited from…
