Massachusetts jumps on the stem-cell bandwagon
(UPDATE: Minor editing.)
Massachusetts may soon be the next state to offer direct support for stem-cell research and related biotechnology developments. Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday proposed a $1 billion, 10 year life-sciences initiative that would provide a variety of direct grants and subsidies aimed at promoting both academic research and commercial development of new medical therapies.
Although Patrick’s plan is similar in some respects to California’s enormous $3 billion stem-cell effort and New York’s proposed $1 billion investment… Continue Reading
Stubbing out tobacco-funded research
A few weeks from now, the University of California and Stanford University may both institute across-the-board bans on tobacco-industry research funding, a sign of the latest struggle between academic integrity and university buckraking to play out across higher education.
The proponents of the ban have a simple point: Tobacco companies sell legal products that kill millions of people every year and for decades have distorted scientific research in order to deflect threats to their business. By… Continue Reading