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Illinois Looks At $1 Billion Plan For Stem Cell Research By PAUL GORES - [log in to unmask] SOURCE: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI WWWeb: http://tinyurl.com/5ze5c Posted: Nov. 24, 2004 A state official in Illinois is proposing a 6% tax on face lifts and other cosmetic procedures to finance $1 billion in stem cell research over 10 years. Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes wants the so-called "nip-tuck tax" proposal put on the ballot as a referendum in 2006. If approved by voters, it could undermine Wisconsin's position in the Midwest and nation in a potentially promising new scientific field. Already wary of how California's approval of $3 billion for research might rearrange the national landscape for stem cell work and the jobs expected to come with it, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle last week announced plans for a $375 million biotechnology research institute on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Human embryonic stem cells were first isolated in 1998 by UW-Madison researcher James Thomson. Proponents of the research say it will add jobs and possibly millions of dollars in private-sector investment in the biotech industry. Hynes said he wants Illinois "to be on the front lines of that revolution," and he thinks voters would approve the research funding. "In the end, we're all in this together. We're trying to cure diseases that impact people from Wisconsin, Illinois and all over America. I don't think we can take an overly possessive approach to this," Hynes said Wednesday. "At the same time, we are trying to market this as not only an opportunity to cure disease, but to establish Illinois as a major center of this research." Hynes' proposal comes less than a week after the Illinois Senate failed by two votes to pass a measure giving the state's endorsement to privately funded embryonic stem cell research. Some oppose work Because human embryos are destroyed in the process of the research, it is opposed by people who believe it ends a human life. Human embryonic stem cells are extracted from unused embryos at fertility clinics. The embryos are donated by couples who decide they no longer need them. Hynes' proposal would need approval from Illinois legislators and Gov. Rod Blagojevich before it is added to the ballot. "I do think if you put it to a vote by the public, it would pass very easily," Hynes said. Embryonic stem cells are master cells that can form virtually any tissue or organ in the body. Scientists are hopeful that stem cells will be a source of replacement cells and tissue to treat spinal cord injuries and serious diseases such as Parkinson's and diabetes. Hynes said a 6% tax on cosmetic procedures such as face lifts, liposuction and Botox injections would be "innocuous and very limited in scope because it only affects less than 2 percent of the population of Illinois." "If you tie it to a noble cause of curing disease, then I think it's even less controversial," Hynes said. The $100 million annually would finance grants and loans for stem cell research at Illinois universities and other medical research facilities in the state. The state would create the Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute to oversee the effort. Scientists in favor Hynes' proposal is drawing support from scientists and doctors from Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois and Children's Memorial Hospital. Last week in Madison, Doyle heralded plans for the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, which would include specialists in biochemistry, nanotechnology, computer engineering and bioinformatics, which uses software and data to evaluate medical information. The institute is part of a plan by Doyle to bolster the state's status in stem cell research and biotechnology. Doyle spokeswoman Melanie Fonder said Wisconsin "already is a hub" of stem cell discoveries and that other states are trying to catch up. "We definitely applaud Illinois for looking at new ways to advance this type of research," Fonder said. From the Nov. 25, 2004, editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel SOURCE: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI WWWeb: http://tinyurl.com/5ze5c * * * Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> Please place this address in your address book Please purge all others Web site: Parkinsons Resources on the WWWeb http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn