A federal appeals court overturned a decision blocking federal funding of stem cell research, clearing the way for taxpayer-funded research on treatments for spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease and other problems. A 1996 law prohibits the use of public funds in work that harms an embryo, but President Obama in 2009 and asked the National Institute of Health to determine if there were other stem cells that could be used in taxpayer-funded research. Obama officials have been at odds with critics over whether the NIH research actually causes an embryo's destruction, as prohibited by the law, according to CNN.
