Private funding for stem cell research is starting to pick up now that the political climate is merely unsettled (an improvement from dire and threatening). From Medical News Today we hear that Columbia University Medical Center is "halfway toward realizing the first phase of a multi-year campaign ... the $50 million goal for the first stage of the campaign, $25 million has been raised from the private sector, specifically for diabetes and neural stem cell research. ... The initial $50 million for the Columbia Stem Cell Initiative will enable Columbia to outfit a new stem cell center, construct a state-of-the-art facility to produce cells for experimental and therapeutic use, and establish a separate laboratory dedicated to growing new human embryonic stem cells for new studies."
Link: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=26217