Quote Originally Posted by Enoch the Red View Post
I find the idea that the US can't be competitive in cutting edge research without the government's hand being involved laughable.

Would federal funding make it easier? Absolutely, but if the potential for profit/development is as great as you think then there's no reason why it couldn't be privately funded.
Yes, because companies driven by quarterly profit results absolutely love basic research. Which is what stem cell research at the moment basically amounts to. And I'm not sure I want private companies involved there.

After all, we're talking about companies which try to patent genes. Or companies which sue farmers for patent infringement.