Changing ethics rules land Spanish stem cell scientist in hot water

The Spanish health ministry is considering legal action against one of the country's top stem cell scientists, saying he conducted research without proper authorization.

But the researcher, Carlos Sim¢n, and the local government in Valencia, where he works, say the ministry's actions are politically motivated.

Sim¢n, scientific director of the Valencian Infertility Institute, created two undifferentiated embryonic stem cell lines in March 2004. Two months later, along with former health minister Ana Pastor and Vicente Rambla, head of Valencia's health department, he publicly presented the lines.

He and his colleagues also published a full characterization of the lines in January (Fertil. Steril. 83, 246_249; 2005). He now says he has succeeded in differentiating them into cells resembling those in the pancreas, heart and brain.
But in late September, the central health ministry announced that the cell lines could no longer be used for research. Roberto Rodr¡guez, a spokesperson for the ministry, says Sim¢n did not have informed consent from parents for the 40 embryos he used for his research, nor did he have formal approval from the ministry. "That is...