Embryonic stem cell research -- a bitterly partisan federal issue that has been debated in previous presidential campaigns -- has been almost absent from the early stages of this year’s presidential race.

The practice has expanded since President Obama took office and seems to have faded somewhat from the national political scene. Proponents say the research has the potential to cure serious diseases, while critics believe harvesting and studying the cells is immoral.

But in Michigan and Nebraska, the examination of embryonic stem cells by public university researchers is again a policy debate.