California Stem Cell Agency's future hangs in the balance as funding is running out

When California voters approved $3 billion in funding for stem-cell research in 2004, biologists flocked to the state, and citizens dreamed of cures for Parkinson’s disease and spinal-cord injuries. Now, the pot of money — one of the biggest state investments in science — is running dry before treatments have emerged, raising questions about whether Californians will pour billions more into stem-cell research.

If they don’t, that could leave hundreds of scientists without support, and strand potentially promising therapies before they reach the market. “It’s an issue of great concern,” says Jonathan Thomas, chair of the board for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) in Oakland.

Read the rest of this article in Nature, the international weekly journal of science.