Posts Tagged: ballot initiative

Trump, fetal tissue and California’s stem cell agency

Human fetal placenta under high magnification. (Photo: photowind, via Shutterstock

by DAVID JENSEN posted 12.12.2018

The California stem cell agency says the Trump administration’s moves against research involving fetal tissue have had no impact on the projects that it is financing, at least so far. The agency, formally known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), was responding to a question originally raised by a reader of the California Stem Cell Report.

California’s gene therapy effort is nation’s first

The science of gene therapy and health care, a concept illustration. (Image: Kentoh, via Shutterstock)

by DAVID JENSEN posted 11.15.2018

California today became the first state in the nation to launch itself into the sizzling field of gene therapy, backed by tens of millions of dollars and with the hope of creating treatments that could permanently cure afflictions ranging from hemophilia to cancer.

Stem cell: Feds’ crackdown could affect California

A stem cell researcher in the laboratory. (Photo: 18percentgrey, via Shutterstock)

by DAVID JENSEN posted 10.03.2018

The recent federal crackdown on the use of fetal tissue in scientific research could well be a harbinger of an effort to revive restrictions on the use of human embryonic stem cells, placing a roadblock in the way of creation of therapies to treat often deadly afflictions that affect millions of Americans. And it could have an impact on the fate of California’s $3 billion stem cell program, which expects to run out of money for new awards by the end of next year.

Clinical trials: Data privacy law needs quick fix

Scientists at work in a clinical laboratory. (Photo: Minerva Studio, via Shutterstock)

by EVE BUKOWSKI posted 08.27.2018

OPINION: Unfortunately, California’s recently passed data privacy law will have unintended consequences for medical research and clinical trials in California and may inadvertently prevent patients like me from accessing the clinical trials that are keeping us alive.

Money crunch at stem cell agency

A liquid nitrogen bank containing a suspension of stem cells. (Photo: Elena Pavlovich, via Shutterstock)

by DAVID JENSEN posted 07.30.2018

California’s stem cell agency gave away $14 million this month, which could be described as less than a drop in its $3 billion bucket. But the talk at the agency’s awards meeting July 19 was not about largess. Instead it was about the lack of cash, lack of time and the need to split “babies” and “buckets.”

Top tales: 2013’s key political yarns

State Capitol, Sacramento. (Photo: David Monniaux)

by JOHN HOWARD posted 12.15.2013

For the followers of California politics, non-election years usually are yawns. Not so 2013: One would be hard pressed to find a year with more hot-button events fraught with statewide political ramifications. Here’s our roundup of the year’s top tales, a subjective compilation to be sure but one which was fun to put together. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)