No Plans to Change German Stem Cell Rules

Two days after German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries' controversial comments on relaxing laws governing embryo stem cell research, her cabinet colleague Research Minister Edelgard Bulmahn has made it clear that the German government is not planning to make any imminent changes to the legislation. In an interview with the Handelsblatt newspaper on Friday, she said that she was not aiming to amend the law because there was no evidence that it wasn't working. Bulmahn said, like Zypries, she does not rule out any change to the stem cell laws in the future, adding that it is important to pay close attention to scientific developments with a view to new considerations.