Embryonic stem cells of a mouse.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine was created by California's Proposition 71 (2004), which authorized it to issue $3 billion in grants, funded by bonds, over ten years for embryonic stem cell and other biomedical research. It is claimed to be the world's largest single backer of research in stem cells, and is expected to speed the progress of the pioneering field. Mouse embryonic stem cells. ... Mouse embryonic stem cells. ... Embryos (and one tadpole) of the wrinkled frog (Rana rugosa). ... Binomial name Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758 Mus musculus is the common house mouse. ... State nickname: The Land of poo Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold pooface (R) Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... Embryonic stem cells of a mouse. ... Mouse embryonic stem cells. ...

Organization and history

Organization and leaders

The CIRM governing committee consists of representatives of groups and institutions who are likely to receive funding, including public universities, nonprofit research centers, private biotechnology companies, and disease-specific patient advocates. They were appointed (or, in the case of chair and vice-chair, nominated) by four elected officials and five UC Chancellors. The University of California (UC) is a public university system within the State of California. ...

The chair of the committee is Robert Klein, a Palo Alto real estate developer who helped write and finance the initiative and is hopeful stem cells will provide a cure for his son, who has diabetes. He was unanimously nominated and elected as chairman. He was previously the chair of the Yes on 71 campaign, a chief author of the initiative, and - at $3 million - its largest financial supporter. The campaign operated from the offices of the Klein Financial Corporation. After the vote, the Yes on 71 campaign changed into the California Research and Cures Coalition, a stem cell advocacy organization, with Klein initially at the helm. Downtown Palo Alto Palo Alto is a city in Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, USA. Palo Alto is located at the northern end of Silicon Valley, and is home to Stanford University (which is technically located in an adjacent area — Stanford, California), and to...

The vice-chair of the governing committee is Edward Penhoet, a biotech businessman. He was a co-founder and president of Chiron, and recently he co-founded Renovis. He is on the boards of directors of Chiron, Renovis, Zymogenetics, and BayBio; and recently on those of Eyetech and the Biotechnology Industry Association. He is a Director at Alta Partners, a venture capital firm with a large biotechnology portfolio. Penhoet has also served on the UC Berkeley faculty and is currently President of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. In Greek mythology, Chiron (hand) — sometimes spelled Cheiron — was held as the superlative centaur over his brethren. ...

CIRM was initially supported by the staff of the California Research and Cures Coalition from the offices of the Klein Financial Corporation. It is now in temporary offices in Emeryville. It is searching for a president, and in May 2005 the trustees chose property in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco for its permanent headquarters. Mission Bay is a 303 acre neighborhood on the central bayshore of San Francisco, bounded by Townsend Avenue on the north, San Francisco Bay on the east, Mariposa Street on the south, and 7th Street and Interstate 280 on the west. ... The downtown San Francisco skyline, looking east from the central part of the city. ...

Prop 71 history

For more information on Prop 71, see California Proposition 71 (2004)

The campaign spent over $30 million and received contributions from figures such as Bill Gates, venture capitalist John Doerr (an early backer of Internet search engine Google), and eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, as well as actors Michael J. Fox and the late Christopher Reeve. Its largest source of funding was from venture capitalists. It was also backed by California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a moderate republican. Embryonic stem cells of a mouse. ... Bill Gates William Henry Gates III, KBE (born October 28, 1955), commonly known as Bill Gates, is an American businessman and a microcomputer pioneer. ... John Doerr is a venture capitalist at Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers in Menlo Park, California, in the Silicon Valley. ... Google, Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG), is a U.S. public corporation, initially established as a privately-held corporation in 1998, that designed and manages the Internet Google search engine. ... The title of this article begins with a capital letter, due to Wikipedia capitalizing the first letter in article titles. ... Pierre Omidyar (born 21 June 1967) is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, and the founder and chairman of the eBay auction site. ... Michael J. Fox in his earlier days. ... Christopher Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, director, producer and writer renowned for his film portrayal of Superman/Clark Kent. ... Arnold Schwarzenegger 38th Governor of California Shown here as Governor of California, with the gubernatorial seal in the background. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ...

Opposition to the initiative came from a diverse range of groups, including both those who support abortion rights and those who oppose them. The former are generally opposed to all embryonic stem cell research, while the latter emphasized potential conflicts of interest, alleged lack of transparency and accountability, and alleged inadequate safeguards to protect the health of egg providers and research subjects.

Note: I would assume that former and latter have been confused, or that support and oppose should be switched, but I did not write this article and don't want to be presumptuous.

Implementation

Following the passage of the proposition, Robert Klein said "there is no doubt in my mind that the mission Californians accepted today is a critical first step in changing the face of human suffering forever." Yet CIRM and its governing board have faced criticism from both opponents and supporters of Prop. 71. For example, the ambitious agenda of its first meeting was postponed due to open meeting laws after a challenge from a public interest lawyer.

National scene

The institute is expected to perform the role in the advancement of the field and the funding of research projects that would normally be played in the U.S. by the government's premiere scientific research organization, the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH and the federal government will likely play a diminished role in the field because of the Bush administration's banning of federal funding of research using embryonic stem cell lines developed after August 2001. (See controversy over stem cell ethical implications) The National Institutes of Health is an institution of the United States government which focuses on medical research. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the current President of the United States and former Governor of the State of Texas. ... 2001 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December Deaths: August 25 - Aaliyah Films: August 10 - Osmosis Jones played by Chris Rock, starring Bill Murray August 24 - Bubble Boy Categories: 2001 by month ... Mouse embryonic stem cells. ...

State-by-state approach

Several states, in some cases wary of a national migration of biotech researchers to California [1], have shown interest in providing their own funding support of embryonic and adult stem cell research. These states include Connecticut [2], Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts [3], New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas [4][5], Washington, and Wisconsin. State nickname: The Constitution State Other U.S. States Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport Governor M. Jodi Rell (R) Official languages English Area 14,371 km² (48th)  - Land 12,559 km²  - Water 1,809 km² (12. ... State nickname: Sunshine State Other U.S. States Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Governor Jeb Bush (R) Official languages English Area 170,451 km² (22nd)  - Land 137,374 km²  - Water 30,486 km² (17. ... State nickname: Land of Lincoln, The Prairie State Other U.S. States Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) Official languages English Area 149,998 km² (25th)  - Land 143,968 km²  - Water 6,030 km² (4. ... State nickname: Bay State Other U.S. States Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney (R) Official languages English Area 27,360 km² (44th)  - Land 20,317 km²  - Water 7,043 km² (25. ... State nickname: The Granite State Other U.S. States Capital Concord Largest city Manchester Governor John Lynch (D) Official languages English Area 24,239 km² (46th)  - Land 23,249 km²  - Water 814 km² (3. ... State nickname: The Garden State Other U.S. States Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Governor Richard Codey (D)Acting Official languages None defined Area 22,608 km² (47th)  - Land 19,231 km²  - Water 3,378 km² (14. ... State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki (R) Official languages None (English is de facto) Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ... State nickname: The Keystone State Other U.S. States Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Governor Ed Rendell (D) Official languages None Area 119,283 km² (33rd)  - Land 116,074 km²  - Water 3,208 km² (2. ... Prior to 1821, Texas was part of the Spanish colony of New Spain. ... State nickname: The Evergreen State Other U.S. States Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Governor Christine Gregoire (D) Official languages None Area 184,824 km² (18th)  - Land 172,587 km²  - Water 12,237 km² (6. ... State nickname: Badger State State motto: Forward Other U.S. States Capital Madison Largest city Milwaukee Governor Jim Doyle (D) Official languages None Area 169,790 km² (23rd)  - Land 140,787 km²  - Water 28,006 km² (17%) Population (2000)  - Population 5,453,896 (18th)  - Density 38. ...

Other states have, or have shown interest in, additional restrictions or even complete bans on embryonic stem cell research. These states include Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Virginia. (States play catch-up on stem cells, USA Today, December 2004) State nickname: The Natural State Other U.S. States Capital Little Rock Largest city Little Rock Governor Mike Huckabee (R) Official languages English Area 137,732 km² (29th)  - Land 134,856 km²  - Water 2,876 km² (2. ... State nickname: The Hawkeye State Other U.S. States Capital Des Moines Largest city Des Moines Governor Thomas Vilsack (D) Official languages English Area 145,743 km² (26th)  - Land 144,701 km²  - Water 1,042 km² (0. ... State nickname: The Sunflower State Other U.S. States Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D) Official languages None Area 82,277 mi²; 213,096 km² (15th)  - Land 81,815 mi²; 211,900 km²  - Water 462 mi²; 1,196 km² (0. ... State nickname: Pelican State Other U.S. States Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans Governor Kathleen Blanco (D) Official languages None; English and French de facto Area 134,382 km² (31st)  - Land 112,927 km²  - Water 21,455 km² (16%) Population (2000)  - Population 4,468,976 (22nd)  - Density 39. ... State nickname: Wolverine State or Great Lakes State Other U.S. States Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) Official languages English Area 250,941 km² (11th)  - Land 147,255 km²  - Water 103,687 km² (41. ... Missouri, named after the Missouri Siouan Indian tribe meaning canoe, is a Midwestern state in the United States with Jefferson City as its capital. ... State nickname: Cornhusker State Other U.S. States Capital Lincoln Largest city Omaha Governor Dave Heineman (R) Official languages English Area 200,520 km² (16th)  - Land 199,099 km²  - Water 1,247 km² (0. ... State nickname: Peace Garden State, Roughrider State, Flickertail State Other U.S. States Capital Bismarck Largest city Fargo Governor John Hoeven (R) Official languages English Area 183 272 km² (19th)  - Land 178 839 km²  - Water 4 432 km² (2. ... State nickname: The Mount Rushmore State Other U.S. States Capital Pierre Largest city Sioux Falls Governor Mike Rounds (R) Official languages English Area 199,905 km² (17th)  - Land 196,735 km²  - Water 3,173 km² (1. ... State nickname: Old Dominion Other U.S. States Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Governor Mark R. Warner (D) Official languages English Area 110,862 km² (35th)  - Land 102,642 km²  - Water 8,220 km² (7. ... USA Today is a national American newspaper published by the Gannett Corporation. ... ← - 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in December • 30 Artie Shaw • 29 Julius Axelrod • 28 Jacques Dupuis • 28 Jerry Orbach • 28 Susan Sontag • 26 Reggie White • 26 Sir Angus Ogilvy • 23 P. V. Narasimha Rao • 23 Doug Ault • 19 Renata Tebaldi • 16...

Embryonic stem cell research in the U.S. is expected to mainly develop at the state level, as a result of the much larger amount of funds available there than the federal level.

• "States play catch-up on stem cells" (USA Today, Dec. 2004)
• "Scientists already lining up for Prop. 71 stem cell funds"

External links

• California Institute for Regenerative Medicine homepage
• The Center for Genetics and Society, a public interest critic of CIRM and Prop. 71
• The California Research and Cures Coalition
• The California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative homepage