It may be only temporary, but the federal government can resume funding embryonic stem cell research, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has ruled.

The panel lifted a temporary injunction issued Aug. 23 blocking the funding. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth said the funding violated a federal law that prohibits federal tax money from being used for research that involves the destruction of human embryos. The appeals court said it is allowing the funding while it reviews Lamberth’s order.

President Obama has advocated strongly for funding stem-cell research, which researchers believe will help them find cures to diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.