New major begins this year

One day after President Obama had lifted restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, Harvard University approved an undergraduate major in stem cell biology. The new course will be offered to freshmen at the beginning of the new academic year in September. "It’s our hope that this program will encourage some of our nation’s aspiring scientists to consider careers in human developmental and regenerative biology, fields which offer tremendous promise to better understand human development and regeneration and which hold the promise of finding new ways to combat disease," said Professor Doug Melton. Does this mean that undergraduates will be dissecting human embryos? Presumably, as Harvard’s press release says that there will be a "heavy emphasis on hands-on research opportunities in all four undergraduate years". ~ Harvard, Mar 10