New Jersey put it in the budget. California may put it on a ballot. The two states announced in recent weeks that they are looking to give stem cell research a cash infusion.
A group in California is trying to get a bond initiative on the ballot in November that would provide $3 billion (US)-roughly $300 million per year for 10 years-to support stem cell research. And if the New Jersey budget proposal passes, it would provide $6.5 million in the first year, and an additional $50 million in public and private funds for the next five years to support stem cell research.
"Politically speaking, [state funding of stem cell research] is kind of a punch in the eye to George W. Bush," says David Beck, president of the Coriell Institute in Camden, NJ. "Both California and New Jersey ... are saying don't play politics with science. Play politics with ...
