BBC News health reporter
US President Barack Obama has lifted restrictions on federal funding for research on embryonic stem cells.
The move will be welcomed by scientists who say this type of work will lead to medical breakthroughs and cures for debilitating diseases like Parkinson's.
They say they need support to move their therapies from the lab to the clinic to help patients.
But many groups oppose the research, not just on ethical but also on safety grounds.
As well as the possibility that stem cells may grow tumours, some fear the therapy could unwittingly pass viruses and other diseases to people who receive stem cell transplants.
 |  The ethical debate surrounding the status of the human embryo will continue unabated  Josephine Quintavalle of Comment on Reproductive Ethics |
But experts say their work using stem cells, which have the ability to develop into other kinds of human cells, is essential to cure some of the most intractable diseases.
Using embryos donated through IVF treatment scientists have coaxed the stem cells inside to grow different types of tissue that could be used for treatments.
One day it may be possible to eliminate diabetes and Parkinson's disease and even cure some types of blindness using stem cells, researchers believe.
But the work is still in its infancy and scientists around the world say they need support to move their therapies from the lab to the clinic to help patients. Read more....
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