Big Numbers, Stem Cell Politics

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(From the New York Times) Eliot Spitzer, an excellent example of the sort of person best kept far from the reins of power, is pulling out large sums - of other people's money - for stem cell research as a campaign bulletpoint: "his administration would push for a $1 billion bond to pay for stem cell and other medical research. Mr. Spitzer, the state's attorney general, said the money for research on stem cells and other promising treatments would be the 'centerpiece' of the state's health care policy if he were elected." This is an amplified reflection of public funding proposals underway many other US states; for better or worse, a state-funded infrastructure to rival cancer research institutions is clearly in the making.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/13/nyregion/13stem.html?pagewanted=print