Harvard to Build Stem Cell Research Center

BOSTON (Reuters) – Harvard University said on Friday it would break ground next year on a 500,000-square-foot (46,450-square-metre) complex for stem cell research as part of the Ivy League school’s push to stay a leader in the field.

"Moving forward with this complex means planting a stake in the ground, from which we will advance this potentially life-saving science," Douglas Melton, co-director of Harvard’s Stem Cell Institute, said in a statement.

Stem cells are the body’s master cells, which give rise to all tissues, blood and organs. Embryonic stem cell research has sparked an emotional debate in the United States.

Some oppose the research on moral grounds, while supporters say it could one day help treat diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

U.S. President George W. Bush limited federal funding of stem cell research on human embryos in 2001. Later this year, the Senate is expected to consider a bill, already approved by the House of Representatives, to permit more federally funded stem cell research.

Harvard University President Lawrence Summers said the research building would house the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and other science initiatives.

Harvard, the oldest American college, has been at the forefront of stem cell research.