Ethics and Genetic Research in Germany

Christian Democrat parliamentarian Hubert Hüppe is convinced that the commission's location is not a coincidence: "It's a scientific body and you shouldn't expect to hear too many critical voices from it. That's why it will just rubber stamp the new course set by the Chancellor."

The Chancellor's new course for genetic research in Germany is one with fewer ideological constraints. Many German scientists seem to welcome this new approach.

For years, they have been worried that Germany could lose its competitive edge in the field of science due to restrictive laws governing genetic research in Germany. Scientists in this country are banned from using embryonic stem cells for research, for instance.

Genetic researcher Otmar Wiestler hopes that the government's strict controls on genetic research will be relaxed with the advent of the new ethics commission.

"For one thing the government urgently needs advice, because of course it's such an extremely complex field. And one of the reasons Chancellor Schröder formed this new commission was without a doubt to create his own group of advisors."

Human applications

Neurologist Oliver Brüstle and his team at Bonn University have successfully produced new brain cells from embryonic mice stem cells and implanted them. Now their aim is to try it out using human cells.

The long-term goal is to establish a bank of replacement cells to be used in the fight against killer diseases such as Parkinson's, Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes and heart disease.

"There are long queues at almost every transplant center, and for some organs there are no donor cells available at all," says Oliver Brüstle of Bonn University.

"Take the nervous system - only now, thanks to stem-cell techniques, is there a new hope that: a) donor cells can be manufactured in large quantities and b) that we will be able to produce cells for which we have so far had no donor cells at all."

But German laws prohibit scientists like Oliver Brüstle from growing stemcells here himself. In contrast, the United States allows researchers from all over the world to use stemcells cultivated in the US. That is why Brüstle wants to import stem-cells from the US for his research.

Oliver Brüstle is concerned that Germany might fall behind the rest of the world in the research field. He believes it is important for Germany to relax its controls on stem cell research, but he can't change his government's views alone. Germany's research community must open that door for him.