The extent to which the UK’s nascent stem cell industry is driven by sentiment was graphically underlined this week as MPs debated parts of the embryology bill permitting the creation of hybrid human-animal embryos for research.

On Monday, as it became clear that the House of Commons would give the go-ahead for the controversial move, shares in ReNeuron and Stem Cell Sciences rose by 48 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively.