In the summer of 2009, three Italian stem cellⁱ scientists unsuccessfully challenged their government in the courts over its decision to exclude human embryonic stem cellⁱ research from a ministerial funding call for projects on stem cell biology. In correspondence published in Nature on 10th February 2010, the scientists argue that their case is both politically and culturally significant.

The UK’s BBC News has highlighted concerns that high-quality science is going unpublished, while weaker research takes its place in leading scientific journals.

Leading stem cellⁱ scientists Austin Smith and Robin Lovell-Badge spoke out about problems with the peer review process – the system used by scientific journals to decide which research is good enough to publish. In this process, when a researcher sends a report about their latest work to a journal, it is passed on to other scientists in the field for comment. The journal editor then uses the comments from these expert reviewers to decide whether the research is of a high enough quality to be published.

A group of 14 leading stem cellⁱ researchers have called for improved transparency in an open letter to peer-review journals publishing in the field of stem cell biology. The letter, which was sent to senior editors of 10 key journals, calls for publication of reviews and editorial correspondence alongside research papers.

Austin Smith of the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, and his 13 co-signatories propose:

Medical travel for unproven stem-cell-based therapies is commonly referred to as stem cellⁱ tourism. Clinics worldwide over-promise the benefits of their so-called treatments and grossly downplay or ignore the risks. Such unproven therapy is without scientific rationale. Neither the efficacy of the treatments, nor the lack of serious side effects has been shown in animal models. This 'magic cure by stem cells' approach must be condemned under all circumstances.

Stem cellⁱ research holds tremendous promise for the development of new therapies for many serious human diseases. However, at the moment, clinically proven stem cell-based treatments have been established only for very few conditions, such as hematopoietic stem cellⁱ transplants for leukemia and epithelial stem cell-based treatments for burns and corneal disorders. All other stem cell applications are experimental.

About a year ago, the International Society for Stem Cell Research formed an international task force of experts in stem cells and clinical research from 13 countries to define guidelines for the responsible development of safe and effective stem cell-based therapies for patients. I co-chaired the task force with Insoo Hyun from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland. The Guidelines, which have now been released, define a ‘roadmap' for medical researchers and clinicians, outlining what needs to be accomplished to move stem cells from promising research to proven treatments for patients.