Harvard Enters Stem Cell Fray.

Harvard University intends to raise on the order of $100 million in the next few years to create a stem cell research institute. Harvard's foray into the field was underscored by a report this week that Douglas Melton, a co-director of the new effort, and colleagues have created 17 new human embryonic stem cell lines. The initiative will focus on bringing work on such cells out of the lab and into the clinic, and it will operate without federal funding to avoid government restrictions. Harvard's new institute and cell lines are the latest signs that restrictions on federal funding are doing little to dampen enthusiasm among scientists eager to work with stem cells.