The National Institutes of Health is working on a registry that will list all the existing stem cell lines, including those owned by private corporations and those in other countries.
My question is how useful is this registry? For a researcher, is having access to this registry just as good as having direct access to all 60 stem cell lines? Or doesn’t it matter?
The registry is so that researchers know where to go for the particular cell line they would like to work on.
Since these are the only allowable lines (for federal funding), a researcher might have to get on a waiting list to get them. The registry will also let the NIH know which line you’re working on, so that they can continue your funding.
As for usefulness, I don’t think that they could do it any other way. If you want the federal funding, you have to know what is available to you, and from where you can acquire it.
Folks will NOT be actually working from this registry, it’ll only be used as a tracking system.
I think that clears things up. Thanks.