Wednesday, July 12, 2006

CIRM Spawns 'New Life' -- Partly

The Journal of Neuroscience has published a piece that says U.S. stem cell research has "taken on new life, driven in part by the California experiment."

Written by Arlene Chiu, director of scientific program and review for CIRM, and Zach Hall, president of CIRM, the brief article is a straightforward account of CIRM's short life. Most of the history is quite familiar to readers of this blog.

But the pair did note an often overlooked fact that the agency has approved "the most comprehensive set of regulations on stem cell research in the country." While Chiu and Hall avoided touting the regulations, it is fair to say they are the benchmark for ESC research rules in the United States.

Chiu and Hall also wrote,
"Despite the lack of funding, Prop. 71 has provided an important stimulus for stem cell research in California and other states. In California, universities and other research institutions have hired new faculty, raised private capital and planned new buildings for stem cell research so that they will be read to compete for public funds once they are available. Faced with competition from California, other states have committed funds, and, in some cases, private foundations have been started to support local stem cell research. As new efforts are mounted in various states across the country, it will be important to ensure mechanisms for collaboration and for transparency, so that new stem cell lines that are derived can be widely shared."
Speaking of sharing, the article is not available online except to subscribers of the Neuroscience Journal. But you might be able to get a peek at if you make a request via the agency.

The article was printed in the June 21 edition of the journal, whose cover consisted of an interesting illustration/outline of California as a cluster of globules. The graphic was executed by Gil Sambrano, scientific review officer for CIRM.

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