Liberal Wedge Issues, Part II

Despite the scandal going on in South Korea, stem cell research is a train that has left the station. No self-respecting scientist believes, just because Hwang Woo Suk and his team faked their cloned human embryonic stem cell lines, that the iea is impossible and can never be achieved. In fact, another breakthrough happened just today:

A private lab working with researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has developed a stem cell system, free of animal cells to create human embryonic stem cells.

Researchers say the new discovery makes it easier for stem cells to thrive in a culture free from animal viruses and other agents that might infect human patients who use those cells for therapy.

The breakthrough opens the door for studies in possible treatments for Parkinson's disease, diabetes and spinal cord injury.

The report was released in the Journal Nature Biotechnology.

So long as researchers are properly funded and encouraged, breakthroughs like this will be a daily occurrence. This is not nearly so far away as many would have you think. Since the federal government will not fund the research any further than the mysterious "existing stem cell lines" (and nobody really knows what they are), there is an opportunity for the states to pick up the slack by deciding to fund it themselves. It worked as a ballot measure in California, and the added benefit for the states is that it could spawn an entire new part of the biotech industry, and they'd be in on the ground floor. I think some stem cell research ballot measures would be both good policy and good politics, particularly for those states who are on more solid economic footing and can devote some cash to funding.