Barack Obama today signed an order reversing the Bush administration’s strict limits on human embryonic stem cell research. It was refreshing to hear Mr. Obama speak on this topic before he signed the order. You can also read the text of his speech here.

Research involving human embryonic stem cells and human non-embryonic stem cells has shown great potential in several countries where this research is progressing.  This will help researchers and scientists, in the United States, to get a better understanding of diseases (Alzheimer’s disease, Cancer among others), and conditions and help come up with a cure. The US has to catch up on this research, after these years. I liked the remark Mr. Obama made, “make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.”

It is a big day for the scientific community. I can see my friends in the research arena really thrilled about this.  I am not remotely connected with this discipline but I see this as a huge step forward for science!