After Trump's decree, scientists feel the cold



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Carolyn Coyne, a scientist at the University of Pittsburgh, is studying placentas from fetuses that would otherwise be thrown out – and fears that this type of research is moving toward the cradle, reports the PA's Administration. Trump's attack on fetal tissue research and new hurdles for government-funded scientists across the country, who consider these special cells as indispensable to combat a range of health threats. Already, the administration has terminated the work of a university using fetal tissue to test HIV treatments and is putting an end to further research on fetal tissue at the National Institutes of Health. "I knew it was something that was going to affect all of us," Coyne said.

She uses the placenta to study how viruses such as Zika cross this protective barrier at the beginning of pregnancy. By order of President Donald Trump, the Department of Health and Social Services suddenly announced on Wednesday the new restrictions on taxpayer-funded, but not privately funded, research. In addition to the cancellation of an HIV-related project at the University of California at San Francisco, NIH-funded academic projects – estimated at fewer than 200 – are not affected in the US. immediate. But while researchers are looking to renew their funding or to offer new studies, HHS said it would need an additional exam. "I predict that over time, federal funding for research using fetal tissue will be phased out slowly and steadily, regardless of the degree of need," says a nationally recognized bioethics expert. .

(Read more stories of fetal tissue.)

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