Jonathan Knight,San FranciscoAfter months of silence,California’s Republi-can governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, lenthis backing on Monday to the state’s ballotinitiative to fund embryonic stem-cellresearch. Supporters of the plan, on whichCalifornians will vote in two weeks, hadbecome increasingly optimistic that it wouldpass following a string of endorsements fromnewspapers and public figures, as well as acontinuing lead in the polls. The governor’sapproval now adds to their confidence.

The measure, known as Proposition 71,would pump $300 million a year for a decadeinto the ethically charged research. Its sup-porters say the investment would pay largedividends both in treatments for intractablediseases and in healthcare savings for the cash-strapped state. Opponents call those claimsspeculative at best, and point to the ethical difficulties of taking cells from embryos thatare either discards of fertility treatments orcreated specifically for cell harvesting.

The Proposition 71 campaign turned upthe heat on 24 September with a string of 30-second television spots in which researchers,patients and celebrities such as the actorMichael J. Fox, who has Parkinson’s disease,urged Californians to vote ‘yes’.“It could savethe life of someone you love,” says Fox in his advert,which first aired on 14 October.

The latest Field Poll, taken just after theads began, showed 46% of Californians for

the initiative and 39% against, indicating aslight increase in its popularity since August.

Proponents have lined up a long list ofsupporters, including dozens of patient advo-cacy organizations, business groups, medicalassociations and Nobel laureates. Several ofthe state’s major newspapers have also lenttheir support,including the Los Angeles Times,the San Francisco Chronicle and The MercuryNews.The Sacramento Bee is opposed.

Although initial opposition to the measure

came largely from conservatives who object toembryo research on moral grounds,a numberof liberal groups are now lining up against iton the grounds that it lacks adequate ethicalsafeguards against financial conflicts of inter-est (see Nature 431, 232;2004).

“Stem-cell research needs controls andoversight. People in the progressive commu-nity have been saying that for a long time,”says Susan Fogel, campaign coordinator forthe ProChoice Alliance Against Proposition71. The group’s supporters include theNational Women’s Health Network and theCalifornia Nurses Association.

Objectors sparred with proponents beforea 300-strong audience at a symposium in San Francisco on 12 October.The symposiumwas sponsored by former city mayor WillieBrown’s Institute of Politics and Public Service. State senator Tom McClintock, asouthern California Republican, said he wasopposed on fiscal grounds. “I do not under-stand why it is suddenly the responsibility ofCalifornia, with the lowest credit rating in thenation,to fund this research,”he said.

But former secretary of state GeorgeShultz, an influential Republican who nowlives in San Francisco, countered that thestate would benefit from the spending.“Basic research is very productive,” he said.Shultz added that it would encourage busi-nesses and researchers elsewhere to “come toCalifornia,where the action is”. ■

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888 NATURE | VOL 431 | 21 OCTOBER 2004 | www.nature.com/nature

Schwarzenegger endorses stem-cell push

Germany balks at funding ESA’s planetary ambitionsAlison Abbott,MunichAurora, the European Space Agency’splanetary exploration programme, may finditself in difficulties as France and Germanyproved reluctant to support it last week.

Representatives of the agency’s memberstates, meeting in Paris, heard that it hadobtained commitments of between€25 million (US$31 million) and €30 million.This is about half what the agency thought itwould need to keep the programme goinguntil it starts in earnest in 2006.

The shortfall is due to notable absencesamong the countries that have pitched in:Germany, in particular, has decided towithhold funding completely.

Europe is winding down its contributionto the International Space Station, and willinstead focus on Aurora. The aim for theprogramme is to ensure that Europemaintains expertise in cutting-edge spacetechnologies, so it can be an equal partner in any future international planetaryexploration projects.

Launched in 2001, Aurora’s preliminary

projects are being updated in line withrecent findings. Its long-term continuationmust be approved by the agency’sministerial council at the end of next year.

Germany and France are the largestcontributors to the European Space Agency(ESA). Together they account for more thanhalf of its total budget: Germany paid 41% ofEurope’s bill for the International SpaceStation, for example. Costs for that projecthave hugely overrun, and Germany is stillpaying out. Together with France, Germanyhas also had to provide much of theincreasingly hefty subsidy for Arianelaunchers — the boosters that provideEurope with independent access to space.This independence from other agencies isfundamental to ESA policy.

Against this backdrop, Germany hasdecided to contribute nothing to Aurora.France has pledged a maximum of only€2 million and may also decide to givenothing when it makes its final decisions on financing at the end of this year.This puts Aurora in the uncomfortable

position of being unsupported by ESA’s two main players.

Surprisingly, Italy — the third largestcontributor to ESA — has taken the lead and offered Aurora up to €14 million (see Nature 431, 619; 2004).

“We would like Germany to be able to join eventually, and hope for a highercontribution from France,” says Aurora’sdirector Daniel Sacotte, based at ESA’sresearch and technology centre inNoordwijk, the Netherlands.

There are a few years yet for countries to change their minds. The first Auroramission — a rover called ExoMars — isexpected to launch no earlier than 2011. Tofund this and other projects, Sacotte hopesfor an annual budget of €200 million. Butthis could be extremely optimistic if majorcontributors do not jump back on board.

Scientists at Germany’s space agency, theDLR, say that it is unlikely the country willbe able to contribute to Aurora any timesoon, as problems with the InternationalSpace Station continue. ■

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has lent his weight to California’s stem-cell initiative.

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© 2004 Nature Publishing Group

© 2004 Nature Publishing Group