Scientists at Harvard University in the United States, in direct defiance of President Bush's wish to ban such research, have begun efforts to clone human embryos.
The esteemed university will bypass President Bush's moratorium on state funding of embryonic stem cell research and has made the decision to go it alone and fund the research with money from private donors.
Teams at Harvard will use millions of dollars of private donations from foundations, hospitals, institutions and individuals to fund academic projects to make new lines.
They hope to eventually be able to harvest stem cells to treat diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and blood disorders.
Embryonic stem cells are the "master" cells that divide and specialise into every type in the adult body and scientists have already shown in research in animals that they have enormous potential for repairing damaged and diseased tissues.
In 2001 George Bush banned the use of government money for research on human embryonic stem cells other than old lines already in use which have since been deemed useless because of contamination.
Harvard's ethics review boards considered the research proposals for a two year period before making the decision.
The research is justified by Harvard's desire to become a world leader in the field of stem cell research and the university which is one of the richest in the world plans build a science complex to house the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.
Stem cell research is a controversial matter and pro-life campaigners repeatedly argue that the process, which involves disposing of the used embryo, amounts to taking a human life.
But Harvard believes the potential benefits of the programme far outweigh such concerns.
University President Lawrence Summers says while the university understands and respects the beliefs of those who oppose such research, they believe that the life-and-death medical needs of countless suffering children and adults justifies moving forward with this research.