Many of the existing human stem-cell lines may have
been cultured with mouse cells (presumably to provide
certain growth/inhibitory factors) exposing them to
possible contamination from murine viruses. That makes
that it unlikely they can be used for human therapies.
Washington Post Article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53580-2001Aug23.html
Slashdot Discussion:
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/08/24/1513201&mode=thread
You can still use the cells for studies to figure out the correct
recipes for turning them into various tissues but they are going
to have to come up with some "untainted" lines for therapeutic
trials.
Robert
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