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New Report on Stem Cell Research Reveals the Field is Growing Twice as Fast as The World Average

“Elsevier, EuroStemCell, and Kyoto University’s Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), released Stem Cell Research report: Trends and Perspectives on the Evolving International at the World Stem Cell SummitThis new, comprehensive analysis of the growth and development of the stem cell field as a whole, closely examines the research landscape for embryonic stem (ES) cell, human embryonic stem (hES) cell and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell. In order to provide a broad and transparent data driven view of the field, the study reviewed leading nations’ research output, citation impact and collaboration behavior, as well as assessing international differences in focus and growth. The report combines a comprehensive publication analysis from Elsevier’s Scopus, the largest scientific abstract and citation database, together with scientists’ and other stakeholders’ views on current progress and future expectations of the field.  Highlights and key findings of the report include:

  • Stem cell research is growing twice as fast (7%) as the world average growth in research (2.9%). For the recent area of induced pluripotent stem cells (awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012), the annual growth rate since 2008 is an astonishing 77%.
  • Stem cell publications are 50% more cited than the world average for all related subject areas, with the following field weighted citation impact (FWCI). ES cell publications maintained a citation impact of above 1.80 (2008-2012), while the hES cell citation impact declined marginally from 2.35 in 2008 to 2.08 in 2012. The emerging field of iPS cell research showed the highest impact within the stem cell field, with a FWCI of 2.93 (2008-2012).
  • While Singapore, Italy, the USA, Japan, and Israel show the highest level of activity in stem cell research the US and China show the highest volume.
  • Around half of all stem cell papers use keywords related to “drug development” or “regenerative medicine” – Reflecting the field’s ongoing development and clinical promise, 47% of stem cell publications used keywords related to regenerative medicine, while 2% used keywords related to drug development. However, iPS cell publications featured drug development more prominently (11% of iPS cell publications), and these papers were also associated with higher citation rates.”

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