Institutions look to team on stem cells

German medical researchers may soon be able to study stem cells in Jerusalem. In meetings in Berlin last week, representatives of the Hadassah Medical Organization and Charite University Hospital in Berlin set the stage for an academic exchange on stem cell research, as well as for a joint seminar on the subject, to be held in Germany. It is illegal to produce embryonic stem cells in the country. Hadassah International President Marlene Post told JTA she was confident the projects would go ahead. The joint seminar could take place as early as the spring of 2008, she said. Charite is one of Germany’s leading research institutions. Unlike Israel, Germany offers few opportunities to conduct stem-cell
research, though the German National Ethics Council has recognized its
importance.
With some scholarly organizations elsewhere supporting anti-Israel boycotts, Post said it was heartening that “Germany is one of the countries that is asking to collaborate more with Israel.”