and the embryo was inserted into a third sheep which gave birth to the clone version of Dolly. 1998: A team from the University of Wisconsin, Madison (James A. Thomson, Joseph Itskovitz-Eldor, Sander S. Shapiro, Michelle A. Waknitz, Jennifer J. Swiergiel, Vivienne S. Marshall, and Jeffrey M. Jones) publish a paper titled "Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Derived From Human Blastocysts". The researchers behind this study not only created the first embryonic stem cells, but recognized their pluripotency, as well as their capacity for self-renewal. The abstract of the paper notes the significance of the discovery with regards to the fields of developmental biology and drug discovery. 2001: President George W. Bush allows federal funding to support research on roughly 60—at this time, already existing—lines of embryonic stem cells. Seeing as the limited lines that Bush allowed research on had already been established, this law supported embryonic stem cell research without raising any ethical questions that could arise with the creation of new lines under federal budget. 2006: Japanese scientists Shinya Yamanaka and Kazutoshi Takashi publish a paper describing the induction of pluripotent stem cells from cultures of adult mouse fibroblasts. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are a huge discovery, as they are seemingly identical to embryonic stem cells and could be used without sparking the same moral controversy. January, 2009: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provides approval for Geron Corporation's phase I trial of their human embryonic stem cell-derived treatment for spinal cord injuries. The announcement was met with excitement from the scientific community, but also with wariness from stem cell opposers. The treatment cells were, however, derived from the cell lines approved under George W. Bush's ESC policy. March, 2009: Executive Order 13505 is signed by President Barack Obama, removing the restrictions put in place on federal funding for human stem cells by the previous presidential administration. This would allow the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide funding for hESC research. The document also states that the NIH must provide revised federal funding guidelines within 120 days of the order's signing. Techniques and conditions for derivation and culture Derivation from humans In vitro fertilization generates multiple embryos. The surplus of embryos is not clinically used or is unsuitable for implantation into the patient, and therefore may be donated by the donor with consent. Human embryonic stem cells can be derived from these donated embryos or additionally