A day after a U.S. district judge halted federal funding of all research involving embryonic stem cells, the government froze about $70 million for projects that were either up for renewal or well along in the approval process, effectively shutting down one of President Barack Obama?s top scientific priorities.
In Wisconsin, the temporary injunction triggered praise from opponents of the research and anxiety from scientists who have dozens of projects and millions in federal money at stake. The ruling put at risk hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation could potentially reap from its three key embryonic stem cell patents. And in the space of 24 hours, the court action thrust the issue of embryonic stem cell research into an already heated campaign for governor.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison, known around the world as the place where James Thomson isolated and grew human embryonic stem cells for the first time, now has 21 projects and about $5 million a year in federal money that depend on the use of the controversial cells. At the Medical College of Wisconsin, embryonic stem cell research accounts for federal grants of $2 million to $3 million a year.