In the wake of the Bush veto last week on the bill relaxing the restrictions on federally funded stem cell research, it seems that governors (California, Illinois) are moving in to fill the void, offering funding, according to a New York Times article. Stem cell research is also becoming an issue in some governor, senator and representative races in other states (Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri and Tennessee), according to the article.

With the governor race getting underway here in Massachusetts, it will be interesting to see whether stem cell research will become a campaign issue. Chris Gabrieli, one of the Democratic candidates, has promised $1 billion over 10 years (raised from bonds) for R&D, with up to half going to stem cell research. From a quick scan of the websites of the other candidates (Deval Patrick, Thomas Reilly, Christy Mihos, Grace Ross and Kerry Healy), it looks like Gabrieli, a former venture capitalist, is the only one so far who has come out full-force on the stem cell issue, at least with that much money promised.

But with gun violence on the rise, the continuing fear of Big Dig tunnels falling on our heads, and perhaps the public perception that scientists at Harvard can take care of themselves when it comes to fundraising, we’ll see how far up the list of campaign priorities state funding for stem cell research rises, if it makes it at all.

Besides, I’m not sure if specific areas of scientific research are well served by being so politicized and used by people on both sides to score political points. In the days leading up to the Senate vote on the stem cell bill, I heard commentaries on NPR from both a supporter and a critic of embryonic stem cell research. I have to admit, I cringed when I heard the supporter say things like this kind of research is needed to find cures for diabetes and other diseases. The promise has been hyped so much that I worry that the public will be disappointed when they realize the realities of research…that it might take longer than one would want to come up with tangible results, and the results may not be as spectacular as one would hope.