United States stem cells research boundaries

Abstract

Recent empirical work has demonstrated the importance of a number of elements of scientific infrastructure that seem to be crucial particularly in fields such as molecular and cellular biology in which the materiality of research renders the process of replication and validation more complex. Scientific infrastructure has many interconnecting elements such as the ability to exchange material used in experiments, the ability to share ideas and information and the ability to share, exchange and promote the mobility of researchers. We focus our investigation on stem cell research in the United States (US). Research in human developmental biology has led to the discovery of human stem cells. The science of stem cell therapies is about to enter a phase of research and development that could lead to unprecedented cures and palliative treatments. However, it is a highly regulated field of research and it raises an important amount of moral, religious and ethical concerns. We seek to examine the boundaries that have emerged in the US in this particular field and we try to understand their impact on the US market of fertilized eggs, embryos and human embryonic stem cells.