California stem-cell institute open for business

Armed with a $150 million loan from the state of California, the state's stem-cell institute announced that it would start asking for research proposals in a matter of weeks and plans to start issuing grants as early as February. The institute's work was supposed to be funded by a $3 billion bond program, but opponents have held that up in court for more than a year now. The institute's board also decided to require its advisory boards to detail any ties they have to companies and universities to guard against any potential conflicts of interest.

- here's the article on the institute from the San Jose Mercury News