Stem cell debacle

The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission heard last week that none of the $15 million in research grants it approved four months ago had been awarded because scientists were late submitting paperwork and university review processes were slow.

Now, they are hearing a different story. Karen Buckelew reports today that University of Maryland officials have refused to sign grant agreements because they are burdensome, onerous and unsuited to this kind of research.

What’s going on here? Why can’t we lock a couple of assistant attorneys general in a room and tell them not to come out until they have an agreement everyone can live with?

-TOM LINTHICUM, Executive Editor