Prop 71 billions produce results?
 

Interesting update on Prop 71 the billions Ca decided to spend on Stem cell research, all the EBSC research failed, looking for results researchers moving to Adult stem cells.

Investors.com - California's Proposition 71 Failure



I remember someone here years ago predicted EBSC were a dead end and that money should be directed in more promising directions. Billions later some are catching on.

Re: Prop 71 billions produce results?
 

Hey relax, California has plenty of money to spend on pet projects...

oh wait...

Re: Prop 71 billions produce results?
 

Five years does not seem like much time to expect a scientific breakthrough. Perhaps if stem cell research began earlier, we'd be seeing results by now. I have not read anything that suggests the reasoning behind it is false. Tried to find an article on the subject from somewhere other than the politically conservative Investors.com, but could not.

Re: Prop 71 billions produce results?
 

No you are right, it is still a field in its infancy, which was why a state outlay of billions to fund it was premature and ultimately wasteful. It does still have potential down the road though.

Re: Prop 71 billions produce results?
 

Don't believe the hype for gov types.

Re: Prop 71 billions produce results?
 

The promise of stem cells doesn't lay in the potential of the cells themselves (at the moment anyway), but the processes and reactions involved in specifying them. I am far to lazy to google the studies etc, but there have been advances made already in repairing nerves for example. It has been proven with rats, but as we know just because it works/worked in a mouse does not mean the process is anywhere near being tested with humans. We fully understand the potential these cells hold, the problem is figuring out where the code within them (DNA baby) lies and how to go about starting the process for the seemingly infinite rehabilitating processes they could be used for. Inn the case of the nerves with rats, I believe they simply had to place the cells at the site of the break and while the break was not 100% repaired, communication was restored to a point. This would probably be one of the easier things to figure if any given exactly how specified a nerve cell is. They are one of the first specializations to take place in damn near any organisms development, and to me would seem logical that they would be one of the easiest in turn to replicate in a labratory environment. Trashing the research after 5 years is simply ludacris. It took 20 yrs to map the first human genome, let alone find specific sequences of code and exploit them in what I would easily say is our least understood cell type. They are the blank chalkboard and we simply need to learn how to write with them. That will take some time.

Re: Prop 71 billions produce results?
 

Actually, many argue that the state should fund technologies that are in their infancy because there is a lack of start up money. Obama is providing funds to support investments in alternative energy, where there are relatively few cost effective proven technologies. Once something begins to show promise, venture capitalists step in and the state's role is reduced.

Re: Prop 71 billions produce results?
 

Yeah the time to for the government to stop kicking in money is when its nearly or completely clear that its going to work. Like with Viagra, if the government is funding any research into that, whoever's in charge should be fired. Let the entrepreneurs tweak it to make it better.