Singapore, here we come

The NY Times reports:

Singapore, notably conservative on most social issues — including a ban on most types of chewing gum — is emerging as a hotbed for stem cell research, thanks to liberal laws in that field and equally liberal government financing.

Lately the tiny island-state’s ambition of joining the ranks of Boston and the Bay Area as a biotech hub has been getting a hand from an unexpected quarter: the White House. Bush administration policies that restrict federal money for stem cell research have prompted an increasing number of top scientists to pack their bags and head for this equatorial city.

Two of America’s most prominent cancer researchers, Neal G. Copeland and Nancy A. Jenkins, are planning to arrive here next month to take posts at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology. The husband-and-wife team, who worked for 20 years at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, said politics and budget cuts had left financing in the United States too hard to come by.

Unless the climate changes in the State Capitol, where hard-line right-to-lifers have made it difficult to do research here, you can expect some stories soon about Wisconsin researchers pulling up stakes for California or even Singapore. The right-wing may say good riddance, but that is utterly foolish and short-sighted.

Embryonic stem cell research is going to happen and going to expand, as sure as we now have yellow margarine in Wisconsin. The only question is whether we'll be last and miss the wave.