The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is handing out its first embryonic stem cell research grants.
The program's independent oversight committee voted Friday to approve 72 grants worth $45 million. Recipients include researchers from Stanford, UC San Diego, UCLA and UC Davis. Some money is also going to non-profit research labs. Governor Schwarzenegger says the grants give Californians hope:
Schwarzenegger : We have hope for the promise of incredible advances in medicine, hope for the eventual end of suffering from diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cancer and MS, and hope for the people who love someone with one of those terrible diseases.
It's been more than two years since voters approved the $3 billion program. The funding has been held up by lawsuits. But last July, the Governor called for a $150 million loan to the institute so research could get underway.
Some people oppose embryonic stem cell research on moral grounds, because embryos are destroyed in the process.
