Wednesday, December 20, 2006

More on New Jersey's funding of embryonic stem cell research

The IHT (through AP) reports:

State officials announced plans December 18, 2006 to invest $7 million (€5.4 million) next year in federally restricted embryonic stem cell research and $3 million (€2.3 million) for less controversial research into adult stem cells.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine called the grants and recently passed legislation to spend $270 million (€206.2 million) on stem cell research facilities in the state "a serious and vital investment in this live-saving research."

The $7 million (€5.4 million) is to be awarded through two or three grants ranging from $1 million (€760,000) to $3 million (€2.3 million) to help establish embryonic stem cell research facilities in New Jersey. The $3 million (€2.3 million) is to be distributed in grants to academic, nonprofit and for-profit institutions.

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Radio station WINS carried the same AP story in the following manner:

New Jersey pushed forward Monday with plans to invest in federally restricted embryonic stem cell research, announcing it will dole out $7 million next year in a bid to find new medical treatments and potentially boost the state's economy.

The state also said it planned to offer $3 million in grants for less controversial research into adult stem cells.

"These grants, combined with the recently passed stem cell legislation, represent a serious and vital investment in this live-saving research," Gov. Jon S. Corzine said. "In the absence of support at the federal level, New Jersey's commitment will ensure our continuing status as the medicine chest to the nation and the world."

Embryonic stem cells are created in the first days after conception and give rise to all the organs and tissues in the human body. The microscopic embryos are days old and usually donated by fertility clinics.

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Nobody commented on whether the $7 million, in the form of two to three grants, was earmarked. One suspects that the $7 million will go directly to the new state research centers being set up, and thus is earmarked research support.

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