As representatives of the Board of Directors of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), we urge you to accept the recent recommendations of the German Research Foundation (DFG) regarding revisions to the 2002 Stem Cell Act.

Cell Stem Cell, the official affiliated journal of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), was awarded the honor of “2007 Best New Journal - Science, Technology & Medicine” by the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division (PSP) of the Association of American Publishers during the PSP Annual Conference yesterday in Washington, DC.

In his State of the Union address, President Bush acknowledged the landmark achievement of stem cell scientists who have demonstrated for the first time that human skin cells can be converted into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), which behave like embryonic stem cells. The ISSCR applauds the President’s direction to Federal agencies to provide additional funding for this important research.

Today, new studies by two research groups were published in leading peer-reviewed scientific journals, Cell and Science, demonstrating for the first time that human skin cells can be transformed into embryonic stem cell-like cells.

More than 300 scientists gathered in Shanghai today for the opening of the 2007 Shanghai International Symposium on Stem Cell Research, jointly organized by the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), and the Shanghai Institutes of Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIBS/CAS) and other research institutes in China.

Local students from Cairns State High School CSHS will have the opportunity to experience first-hand the high-level discussions and presentations at the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 5 th Annual Meeting.

ISSCR released its Guidelines for the Conduct of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, calling for special scrutiny of human embryonic stem cell research and specify rigorous ethical standards for scientists working with human embryonic stem cells, and seeking to promote responsible, transparent and uniform practices worldwide.