Aggregated News
California's stem cell agency on Friday said it will give out $75.7 million in research grants, a move that will help scientists get around federal funding restrictions on human embryonic research.
The funding will go to scientists working at 12 non-profit and academic institutions.
"As of today, we are the largest, single source of embryonic stem cell research funding in the world," said Dale Carlson, a representative of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
The agency was created to oversee $3 billion in stem cell spending allocated by California voters when they approved Proposition 71 in 2004.
This is the second time the agency has issued research grants. In February, it awarded $45 million worth of funding. Almost half of those who scored the grants were new to the field of stem cell research.
The grants are part of a program that has put California in the middle of the controversy over the use of embryonic stem cells in medical research. In August 2001, President George W. Bush announced federal grants could only fund research using existing embryonic stem cell...