Aggregated News
Some say elite of stem-cell world can be lured to area
Fueled by visions of Prop. 71 dollars and high-tech cures, Southland biomedical investigators aim to turn the region, including the Inland Empire, into a mecca of embryonic stem-cell research.
California voters this week passed $3 billion in state grant funding. The victory spurred predictions that the law will woo the world's top talent in this new field and accelerate advances in treating such diseases as Parkinson's, diabetes, Alzheimer's, cancer and spinal-cord injuries.
"Anyone who understands the technology's potential can't help being more enthusiastic now," said Dr. John Yu, co-director of the Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Yu predicts that the first practical stem-cell therapies - likely for treating Parkinson's and brain tumors - could be available within five to eight years.
Others, however, are not convinced. The Catholic Church and fundamentalist religious groups, who brand stem-cell research as immoral, weren't swayed by Prop. 71's sweeping victory.
And even some experts not opposed to the concept offered objections about the rush to research. Critics...
Fueled by visions of Prop. 71 dollars and high-tech cures, Southland biomedical investigators aim to turn the region, including the Inland Empire, into a mecca of embryonic stem-cell research.
California voters this week passed $3 billion in state grant funding. The victory spurred predictions that the law will woo the world's top talent in this new field and accelerate advances in treating such diseases as Parkinson's, diabetes, Alzheimer's, cancer and spinal-cord injuries.
"Anyone who understands the technology's potential can't help being more enthusiastic now," said Dr. John Yu, co-director of the Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Yu predicts that the first practical stem-cell therapies - likely for treating Parkinson's and brain tumors - could be available within five to eight years.
Others, however, are not convinced. The Catholic Church and fundamentalist religious groups, who brand stem-cell research as immoral, weren't swayed by Prop. 71's sweeping victory.
And even some experts not opposed to the concept offered objections about the rush to research. Critics...
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