Americans just got news that an appeals court has lifted a ban on federal funding for stem cell research:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia lifted an injunction imposed last year by a federal judge, who said all embryonic stem cell research at the National Institutes of Health amounted to destruction of embryos, in violation of congressional spending laws.

Meanwhile, the European Union’s highest court is likely to soon rule for a ban on patents for embryonic stem cell-related technologies, which has scientists speaking out:

Research scientists spoke out Wednesday on a European Court of Justice (ECJ) case they say could block development of embryonic stem cell-based therapies in Europe.

The ECJ’s advocate general has said all patents on embryonic stem cell-related technologies should be banned on moral grounds, but in a letter in the journal Nature and during a briefing in London, leading stem cell scientists said that could spell disaster for drug firms seeking treatments for conditions such as blindness and spinal chord injuries.