Sector Glance: Stem Cell Stocks

Scientists reported they were able to make regular human cells mimic embryonic stem cells. The reports, published in the journals Science and Cell, in effect show they were able to create stem cells equivalent to embryonic stem cells.

President George W. Bush has twice vetoed bills that would provide federal funding for stem cell research, citing the technique used to create them: Embryonic stem cells are extracted from an embryo, but that embryo is destroyed in the process.

The research teams, in the United States and Japan, were able to use a lab technique to create the stem cells from skin cells.

Here's how several other key biotechnology stocks performed Thursday:

StemCells Inc., up 28 cents, or 15.6 percent, to $2.08

Geron Corp., down 18 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $6.16

Cytori Therapeutics Inc., down 32 cents, or 6.1 percent, to $4.93

Osiris Therapeutics Inc., up 12 cents to $10.44.