Editorial: A miracle cure for stem cell conflicts
By Sacramento Bee,
Sacramento Bee
| 07. 10. 2005
As many readers know, leaders of California's stem cell research institute have steadfastly refused to disclose the stock holdings and consulting relationships of scientists who will be recommending billions in research grants over the next decade.
The official explanation? Institute Chairman Robert Klein II and interim president Zach Hall claim that top scientists will refuse to "volunteer" for the institute's grant review panel (which pays $300 a day) if they are forced to publicly disclose their potential conflicts.
This page has spent weeks examining this claim. Frankly, it is a bunch of malarkey.
Throughout the scientific world, stem cell researchers are increasingly disclosing their corporate research relationships and stock holdings.
Some must do so if they want to serve as faculty on Continuing Medical Education courses sponsored by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and other medical schools.
Others must publicly disclose conflicts when their research is published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association and other prestigious publications.
Consider the recent meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, held in...
Related Articles
By Editors, Nature | 08.18.2026
Shinya Yamanaka doesn’t see himself as a celebrity. But people do recognize the stem-cell researcher when he’s out for a run, often while training for a marathon, on the streets of Kyoto, Japan.
Many of them call out words of...
By Jessica Hamzelou, MIT Technology Review | 07.30.2026
As of this week in Montana, any biotech company with an experimental drug has a clear path to selling it to consumers. Companies whose drugs have been through preliminary testing—sometimes in as few as 10 healthy people—can pay $12,500 to...
By Carl Zimmer and Marco Hernandez , The New York Times | 07.01.2026
Scientists have long dreamed of discovering the alchemy by which chemicals can be turned into life. On Wednesday, a team at the University of Minnesota announced that it had taken a major step toward that vision.
Blending together dozens of...
By Marisa Flook , BioNews | 06.29.2026
An anti-ageing gene therapy not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to be offered by an American company at overseas clinics outside of US jurisdiction.
The treatment, developed by Minicircle from Austin, Texas, uses a...
