California: new leader in stem cells?

Next Tuesday, California voters could overthrow three years of cautiously crafted national policy on perhaps the most controversial area of modern science. By approving Proposition 71, they would authorize the state to spend $3 billion on stem-cell research, trumping the Bush administration's go-slow approach and potentially setting the nation on a new course.

Although the research is in its infancy, understanding how stem cells work could revolutionize medical science - promising treatments for diseases it has been unable to cure, say many scientists. With its $3 billion bond, California would instantly become a leader in the field, attracting businesses and biologists from across the world.

But the concerns are broad, touching on issues as varied as fiscal responsibility and Christian morality, women's health and medical ethics. Audacious even by California's standards, the decision could have a transforming impact on science and society, both bringing the nation closer to long-sought cures and to the edge of cloning's slippery slope.

"This is unprecedented even for California," says George Annas, a bioethicist at the Boston University School for Public Health.

If Prop. 71 were passed, California would borrow $3 billion over 30 years to fund stem-cell research in the state. Almost overnight, it would tilt America's struggling stem-cell establishment toward the California coast and recast the national conversation about such research. "It creates a reality on the ground and ends the debate in a very real way," says Jeffrey Kahn, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

This would be particularly true if Mr. Bush remains in office. Troubled that stem-cell research involves the destruction of embryos, the president decided in 2001 to limit federal funding. Since then, scientists say, America has fallen behind. "By all objective measures, we're well behind the rest of the world, but by all objective measures we have the strongest scientific community in the world," says Susan Fisher, who works with stem cells at the University of California in San Francisco (UCSF). "[Prop. 71] allows us to do the fundamental work that is needed in an exciting area of science."

Indeed, few scientific disciplines evoke more anticipation than stem cells. Stem cells are primal cells that can develop into any organ or tissue in the body. If scientists can discover how they do this, they could theoretically grow new tissues and devise new treatments. What they have lacked so far is the money to get started. While a handful of universities including UCSF have dedicated millions to stem-cell research, most medical advances are also fueled by large sums of federal money. Prop. 71 would help fill the gap, encouraging students, universities, and biotechnology firms that might have otherwise gone into areas where more money is available.

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