After California, more states eye stem cell research

With millions of dollars in stem cell research grants soon to be up for grabs, California is starting to look a lot like El Dorado for medical researchers and investors. And now a handful of other states, including New Jersey, Wisconsin and New York, are racing to catch up with the Golden State, mindful of the health and economic benefits that stem cell funding could bring. "Everyone’s rushing to put together a stem cell program,” says Andrew Cohn, a spokesperson for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Alumni Research Foundation, which holds the patents for the university’s stem cell discoveries. “People recognize that this field of study has incredible potential, not only to cure disease, but also as an economic tool.” Stem cells &emdash; precursor cells that can develop into any cell type &emdash; were first discovered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998. Wisconsin's governor, Jim Doyle, recently vowed to spend some $750 million on stem cell studies.