Is California Turning Stem Cells Into Dollars or Debts?

California received its first royalty check on $3 billion in bonds sold to support stem cell research.

Now, debate is kicking up on whether a $190,346 check is enough of a return on investment to get voters’ OK for billions more to fund the state stem cell agency, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).

The payment from City of Hope, a Los Angeles County-based research center, comes as supporters of CIRM gear up for a 2020 voter initiative to fund another series of billion-dollar bond sales. The current authority to sell bonds ends in 2019.

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