Lofty promises, limited results
By Erin Allday and Joaquin Palomino, San Francisco Chronicle [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 09. 06. 2018
After 14 years and $3 billion, has California's bet on stem cells paid off?
It was an extraordinary political proposal: Approve a $3 billion bond measure to fund the cutting-edge science of stem cell therapy, and soon some of the world’s cruelest diseases and most disabling injuries could be eradicated.
The 2004 measure was Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative. The campaign to pass it was led by a Palo Alto real estate developer whose son suffered from an incurable illness that he believed stem cells, the keystones of human biology, could heal. Other supporters included preeminent scientists, Hollywood celebrities, business leaders and elite investors.
THE MIRACLE CELL
This series explores the hope and reality of the revolutionary science of stem cell therapy. It focuses on what has transpired since 2004, when California voters approved a $3 billion bond measure to fund stem cell research with the promise that it soon would produce new treatments for incurable diseases.
In four parts, it follows the stories of patients desperately seeking remedies; probes the for-profit clinics where unproven and unregulated treatments are being offered; takes you into the labs and hospital rooms where...
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By Nishakanthi Gopalan et al., Biotechnology Law Report | 10.09.2018
Abstract
Stem cell (SC) technology has spurred many debates among experts which highlight both the deficiency of current regulation and the growing need for better oversight. The benefit of better regulating SC technology is easily understood by studying the variety...
By Gina Kolata, The New York Times | 10.29.2018
For Dr. Piero Anversa, the fall from scientific grace has been long, and the landing hard.
Researchers worldwide once hailed his research as revolutionary, promising the seemingly impossible: a way to grow new heart cells to replace those lost in...
By Rob Stein, National Public Radio | 09.20.2018
Scientists say they have taken a potentially important — and possibly controversial — step toward creating human eggs in a lab dish.
A team of Japanese scientists turned human blood cells into stem cells, which they then transformed into very...
By Chronicle Editorial Board, San Francisco Chronicle | 09.11.2018
California’s pioneering decision to spend $3 billion on stem cell research isn’t producing cures after 14 years of work. Instead, it’s generating a widening scientific field that shows potential but not results.
It’s a frustrating shortcoming, especially as supporters of...
