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California's voters have authorized the spending of $3 billion over the next decade on stem-cell research. But will this bonanza bring threats as well as opportunities? Peter Aldhous weighs the hopes and fears.
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Bob Klein is a man in a hurry. This energetic 59-year-old entrepreneur rose to public prominence last year, spearheading the campaign that convinced California's voters to back an audacious plan to create a $3-billion public fund to advance research on human stem cells. Interviewed by Nature in late February, he was determined to press ahead as soon as possible: "My goal would be to approve the first grants in May."
But today Klein and his supporters are wrestling with the practical realities of building their multibillion-dollar research agency, called the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), from scratch, while fending off political and legal attacks from both long-standing opponents and former allies. It's already clear that Klein's May deadline will be missed by several months.
Stem-cell biologists are looking forward to the injection of funds, whenever it finally arrives. But some question whether...
Click for larger map
Bob Klein is a man in a hurry. This energetic 59-year-old entrepreneur rose to public prominence last year, spearheading the campaign that convinced California's voters to back an audacious plan to create a $3-billion public fund to advance research on human stem cells. Interviewed by Nature in late February, he was determined to press ahead as soon as possible: "My goal would be to approve the first grants in May."
But today Klein and his supporters are wrestling with the practical realities of building their multibillion-dollar research agency, called the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), from scratch, while fending off political and legal attacks from both long-standing opponents and former allies. It's already clear that Klein's May deadline will be missed by several months.
Stem-cell biologists are looking forward to the injection of funds, whenever it finally arrives. But some question whether...
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