Voting yes on Prop 14 means supporting stem cell research through a $5.5 billion state bond. Its a loan that California, through its taxpayer-supported general fund, would have to pay back with interest over 30 years.

Prop 14 would extend funding that has almost run out for the states stem cell research institute, which was created with the approval of California voters in 2004 after President George W. Bush banned federally funding studies that use newly created stem cell lines.

The research supports the development of treatments and cures for cancer, Alzheimers, heart disease and other medical conditions. Prop 14 also comes with new rules on spending the funds, including more access to stem cell treatment for patients.

Voting no on Prop 14 means rejecting a new bond to continue state funding for stem cell research.

Supporters: Cedars-Sinai, City of Hope, the Michael J. Fox Foundation and other research and patient advocacy groups have helped raise more than $6.5 million to promote Prop 14. The coalition says stem cell research has led to significant progress that includes clinical trials, more than 2,900 medical discoveries and benefits for patients with chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and ALS.

Critics: No organized effort has raised money to oppose Prop 14, but some newspaper editorial boards such as the L.A. Times argue that the measure isnt the best way to back stem-cell research. The idea was never for California to become the long-term replacement for federal funding, the L.A. Times editorial board said. It was to kick-start an industry that would then operate on its own.

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California Proposition 14: Funding medical research that uses stem cells - KTLA

Good morning.

Tapping through Instagram stories is not where I expected to find the actor Seth Rogen looking very serious.

And yet, there he has been over the last couple weeks, nodding solemnly as his wife, Lauren Miller Rogen, talks about Alzheimers research. A big block floating near their heads reads, Yes on 14.

Thats Proposition 14, one of the dozen propositions on the statewide ballot this month.

[Read more about whats on this years statewide ballot.]

The measure, which would put $5.5 billion in state bond money toward stem cell and other medical research, is not something most Californians are likely to have spent a lot of time thinking about.

But its a fair illustration of Californias ever-evolving ballot proposition system at work, David McCuan told me.

Mr. McCuan is a political-science professor at Sonoma State University who has studied Californias ballot initiatives for two decades.

Historically, its been hard to get voters to say yes to the questions theyre posed on the statewide ballot, he said, whether theyre being asked to spend more money on something like stem cell research or to change laws made by the Legislature. But thats been shifting.

We see things where the yes side and the coalitions that form under initiative politics are becoming better learners, he said. Donors are strategic, and the ballot measure itself is specific about what it will do.

He said that as the strategy behind Californias propositions the crafting of ballot language, the timing of ad spending has become more sophisticated, the money behind them has become astronomical.

This is the second most expensive political exercise in the free world, he said. Youre looking at around $650 million so far for 12 ballot measures.

Compare that, he said, with $57 million the record-breaking quarterly sum raised by Jaime Harrison, whos challenging Senator Lindsey Graham in South Carolina.

Much of that spending this year has been by proponents of Proposition 22, the complicated ballot initiative that would exempt ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft from requirements that they give drivers protections and benefits due to employees under the states new gig-work law.

[Read more from The Los Angeles Times about arguments for and against Proposition 14.]

But millions of dollars have been spent even on something much lower profile, like Proposition 14.

The coalition that put it on the ballot has raised more than $13.4 million in support of the measure, according to the California Fair Political Practices Commission, which lists top donors to each campaign. Most of that money has come from Robert N. Klein, a real estate investor, as well as Dagmar Dolby, the widow of Ray Dolby, the sound magnate.

It would re-up funding for the states stem cell research agency, which was started with the blessing of California voters, who approved the first bonds in a 2004 ballot measure, to fill in gaps left by a federal ban on funding for research using new embryonic stem cells.

[See The Timess full voter guide for Californians, with information about how, when and where to cast your ballot.]

Proponents, who include Gov. Gavin Newsom and the University of California Board of Regents, say its critical, lifesaving work that takes time and resources.

Opponents say that the measure would saddle California taxpayers with even more debt during an economic crisis, and that the money the agency has already spent hasnt yielded worthwhile results.

Further, as the editorial boards of The Los Angeles Times and The San Francisco Chronicle noted, the ban on federal funding, under President George W. Bush, was reversed by President Barack Obama.

But the fight is lopsided: Theres no significant organized campaign against the measure. The Secretary of States office showed that the No on Proposition 14 committee raised just $250.

[Conoces a alguna persona interesada en esta informacin en espaol? Puedes compartirle nuestra gua para los votantes de California.]

Mr. McCuan said bond measures like Proposition 14 have tended to fare better with voters.

And while he suggested opponents of some ballot measures may save up to fight the results in court 70 percent of the ballot measures that go to the ballot through popular petition and are passed are found unconstitutional he doesnt see that happening with Proposition 14.

In essence, the measure shows the system doing what it was intended to do: Give anyone an opportunity to ask voters to weigh in on a question as long as they have the money to get their message out, Mr. McCuan said.

Still, he said, a high stakes general election can sweep up, or lead to some surprises.

(This article is part of the California Today newsletter. Sign up to get it by email.)

Read more about politics and the ballot in California:

Uber and Lyft have been pushing their Proposition 22 message somewhere voters cant escape it: their phones. [The Los Angeles Times]

Proposition 25 would end cash bail. Why are some progressive groups against it? [KQED]

Find information about all the propositions, including whos putting money behind which side. [CalMatters | The Los Angeles Times | SFGate | Official voter information guide]

The campaign manager for Representative T.J. Cox admitted to using Photoshop to make it look like his opponent, David Valadao, retweeted the presidents post saying, California is going to hell. Vote Trump! Mr. Cox is the Central Valley Democrat fighting to keep the job he narrowly won in 2018 from Mr. Valadao, the moderate Republican who last held the seat. [KGET]

A long-running legal battle over the 2020 census took another turn. Heres where things stand. [The New York Times]

When Senator Kamala Harris asked Judge Amy Coney Barrett about climate change on Wednesday, Judge Barrett called it a very contentious matter of public debate. [The New York Times]

Pacific Gas and Electric said more than 50,000 customers across a broad swath of Northern California would lose power as yet another round of hot, dry, dangerous weather descends on the region. The utility said on Wednesday that shut-offs would start that night and could extend until Friday night. [The New York Times]

Heres how to check if your home may lose power. [The Mercury News]

The Bay Area is bracing for dangerous Diablo winds, which pick up in the fall. Heres more about Californias demonized winds, and how they shape fire season. [The New York Times]

Health care workers at Harbor-U.C.L.A. Medical Center protested the shooting of a patient with a mental illness by a sheriffs deputy. Sheriff Alex Villanueva described the incident as like a scene out of The Shining. That comment drew sharp rebuke from the hospitals chief medical officer. [The Daily Breeze]

A man was spotted flying a jetpack near LAX. Again. [The New York Times]

One of the uncountable milestones that have been altered by the pandemic is the very act of giving life.

Midwives have said theyve seen an increase in demand, as hospitals became, well, less hospitable to families who want to experience birth together.

My colleagues in Parenting published a photo essay showing midwives at work in Los Angeles. The images, like the one above, are raw and intimate and cinematic. See them here.

California Today goes live at 6:30 a.m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes.com. Were you forwarded this email? Sign up for California Today here and read every edition online here.

Jill Cowan grew up in Orange County, graduated from U.C. Berkeley and has reported all over the state, including the Bay Area, Bakersfield and Los Angeles but she always wants to see more. Follow along here or on Twitter.

California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from U.C. Berkeley.

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What Proposition 14 Tells Us About California - The New York Times

A cellular therapy for epilepsy developed at UC San Francisco has been employed for the first time in a sea lion with intractable seizures caused by ingesting toxins from algal blooms. The procedure is the first-ever attempt to treat naturally occurring epilepsy in any animal using transplanted cells.

The 7-year-old male sea lion, named Cronutt, first beached in San Luis Obispo County in 2017 and was rescued byThe Marine Mammal Center(TMMC), based in Sausalito, Calif. His epilepsy is due to brain damage caused by exposure to domoic acid released bytoxic algal blooms. Each year, domoic acid poisoning affects hundreds of marine mammals, including both sea lions and sea otters, up and down the West Coast, a problem that is on the rise as climate change warms the worlds oceans, making algal blooms more common.

Like many of these animals, Cronutt cannot survive in the wild due to his epilepsy, and he was transferred by TMMC in 2018 to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, Calif., which has facilities to care for wildlife with special veterinary needs.

In recent months, Cronutts health has declined due to increasingly frequent and severe seizures. With all other options exhausted, his veterinary team sought help from epilepsy researcherScott C. Baraban, Ph.D., in a last-ditch effort to save the sea lions life. For over a decade, Baraban, who holds the William K. Bowes Endowed Chair in Neuroscience Research in UCSFsDepartment of Neurological Surgery, has been developing the cell-based therapy, which has been shown by his research team to be highly effective in experimental lab animals.

This method is incredibly reliable in mice, but this is the first time it has been tried in a large mammal as a therapy, so well just have to wait and see, said Baraban, a member of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences. Over the years Ive come to learn how many marine mammals cant be released into the wild due to domoic acid poisoning, and its our hope is that if this procedure is successful it will open the door to helping many more animals.

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, a team of 18 specialists, including veterinarians from Six Flags and neurosurgeons and researchers from UCSF, successfully completed a precisely targeted injection of brain cell precursors taken from pig embryos called neural progenitor cells into Cronutts hippocampus, the brain region responsible for seizures. Based on extensive observations in rodents, Baraban said, the injected embryonic cells should migrate through his damaged hippocampus over the course of days and weeks, integrating and repairing the brain circuitry causing his seizures.

It was a remarkable convergence. Every year there are many animals suffering from epilepsy for which there isnt any treatment available, while, just across the bridge from The Marine Mammal Center, we at UCSF are trying to develop this new form of therapy and looking for ways to one day translate it to the clinic, saidMariana Casalia, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher who joined Barabans lab in 2015 to work ontranslating the groups successes in rodentsinto therapies, and who has taken the helm of the sea lion epilepsy project. It seemed very natural for us that these animals could be first patients to hopefully benefit from this therapy.

Domoic acid poisoning in marine mammals causes hippocampal damage very similar to that seen in temporal lobe epilepsy, the most common form of epilepsy in humans. In this disease, damage to hippocampal inhibitory interneurons removes the brakes on electrical activity, leading to seizures. In a vicious cycle, seizures can further damage brain circuitry, which is why epilepsy often worsens over time.

Since 2009, theBaraban labhas been developing a way to replace these damaged interneuronsby transplanting embryonic MGE (medial ganglionic eminence) progenitor cells into the hippocampus. As discovered two decades ago by Barabans UCSF colleaguesArturo lvarez-Buylla, Ph.D., andJohn Rubenstein, Ph.D., MGE cells normallymigrate into hippocampus during brain developmentandintegrate themselves into the local circuitry as inhibitory neurons.

Barabans group has shown that its possible to transplant embryonic MGE cells into the brains of adult rodents with temporal lobe epilepsy, wherethey quickly spread through the hippocampus and repair its damaged circuitry. The procedure reliably reduces seizures in these animals by 90 percent, along with other side effects of epilepsy, such as anxiety and memory problems.

Our laboratorys work has been inspired by the desire to find new solutions for the 30 percent of temporal lobe epilepsy patients who dont respond to available drug treatments, and for whom no new medicines have emerged over the past 50 years. Baraban said. For a number of reasons, including regulatory hurdles, cellular therapies for people with epilepsy are probably still a long way off. However, marine mammals with brain damage from domoic acid poisoning are in a very similar boat with no effective treatments that would let them ever be returned to the wild.

Baraban learned about the hundreds of annual domoic acidrelated strandings of marine mammals from long-time colleague Paul Buckmaster, D.V.M., Ph.D., of Stanford University. Buckmasters seminal studies in collaboration with TMMC in Sausalito had found that these animalssuffer from hippocampal damage almost identical to human temporal lobe epilepsy.

As soon as Mariana and I learned about this issue it was clear that our approach could be a perfect solution to help rehabilitate these animals, Baraban said.

Casalia had spent four years developing and testing a pig source of MGE cells pig tissue is often used for transplants into humans in collaboration with colleagues at UC Davis, work the lab intends to publish soon. On learning about the plight of domoic acidpoisoned sea lions, she partnered with TMMC and the California Academy of Sciences to study sea lion skulls to begin planning an eventual transplant surgery. She ultimately worked with UCSF neurosurgery chairEdward Chang, M.D., and collaborators at the medical software firmBrainLabto create a custom targeting system for the sea lion brain.She had even spent months working closely with the Hamilton Company to create a custom needle for delivering the stem cells to the right spot in a sea lions hippocampus.

All that remained was to find the right patient. And then, in September, 2020, they got a call from a veterinarian at Six Flags asking if they could help save the life of a sea lion named Cronutt.

After rescuing Cronutt in 2017, TMMC had attempted three times to rehabilitate him and release him back into the wild. Each time he would beach himself again, emaciated, disoriented, and approaching humans. Then he began to have seizures. Most marine centers dont have facilities for the long-term care of marine mammals with special needs, but Six Flags volunteered to give Cronutt a new home.

We have cared for a lot of special needs animals over the years, said Dianne Cameron, director of animal care at Six Flags. We adore Cronutt and are committed to providing him a forever home. He has his own apartment in our Sea Lion Stadium with a pool and dry resting area. When hes doing well, he comes out and participates in training sessions. Unfortunately, recently it has been hard to get him to come out of his apartment.

Over this spring and summer, Cronutt had begun a serious decline his seizures were increasing, he was losing weight, and he often seemed disoriented. To oversee Cronutts care, Six Flags hiredClaire Simeone, DVM, a founder and CEO of Sea Change Health, who hadstudied the neurological effects of domoic acid poisoningduring her six years working with TMMC. But it soon became clear that no treatment was working for Cronutt.

Despite our best efforts and all the tools that we have, his seizures were becoming more prolonged and more frequent over time, Simeone said. His brain damage and the effects on his body were getting worse. His decline has been gradual, but we reached a point several months ago where we were questioning what quality of life he had. We had run out of options for how we could successfully manage Cronutts disease and knew that we were going to have to make some hard decisions soon.

Then Simeone recalled a talk Baraban had given at TMMC several years ago about the potential of MGE transplants for marine mammals with domoic acid poisoning. In September, she reached out to ask if the lab might be willing to attempt the procedure as a last-ditch effort to save Cronutts life.

Cronutts health was slipping fast, but Casalias years of preparation for this moment allowed her and her colleagues to quickly assemble everything that would be needed in just one month.

In a bit of serendipity that would prove crucial, Cronutts brain had already been imaged in 2018 by Ben Inglis, Ph.D., of UC BerkeleysHenry H. Wheeler Jr. Brain Imaging Centeras part of an ongoing study ofhow domoic acid poisoning affects the sea lion brain. These MRI images provided critical guideposts that made it possible for UCSF neurosurgeons to plan how they would inject stem cells at just the right spot in Cronutts hippocampus.

Cronutts surgery, conducted in accordance with COVID-19 protocols at the SAGE Veterinary Centers in Redwood City, Calif., went smoothly, and he was returned to Six Flags. In the days after the surgery his veterinary team reported that he had been sleeping and eating well.

Based on prior experiments transplanting pig MGE cells into rats, the researchers expect it to take about a month or so for the cells to fully integrate into Cronutts hippocampus. They will be following up to see if his seizures decrease and his health and behavior improves, and whether his antiseizure medications can be reduced.

This first-ever attempt has been made possible by funding from a Javits Award from the National Institutes of Health and from the UCSFProgram in Breakthrough Biomedical Research. Without these funds, this kind of high-risk, high-reward science would never have gotten off the ground, Baraban added. It also depended on Marianas fearlessness and perseverance in pursuing this very uncertain project.

Casalia, who has degrees in applied science and neurobiology from Universidad National de Quilmes and the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, says the surgery felt like a culmination of everything shed been working on in her career so far. Ive always wanted to apply what we are doing in the lab to the clinical setting, she said. For me the ability to do this in reality to help these animals who are suffering is a dream come true.

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How a UCSF team is giving Cronutt the sea lion a second chance with neuroscience - University of California

Perhaps theres nothing more synthetic than technology among the many products of human creativity. But today this very technology plays a crucial role in preserving the natural world and advancing wildlife conservation. Here are a few ways in which this is being done

One can be forgiven for looking down on the humble camera trap - after all, this automated device has been around for decades. But one would be hard-pressed to find a simpler yet effective device used in wildlife research and conservation.

Though it began life as a device requiring films, today it has grown to be digital, sending real-time images and taking videos too.

Most commonly used to document the presence of elusive wildlife, the potential of camera traps has expanded over the years. Camera traps and videos have been used to study and document several species from arboreal mammals to fast-flying humming birds.

The devices have also helped study the likes of bats hibernating in the dark. The bonus? The images and videos of what is called a bycatch - species that were not the intended targets!

While camera traps help through visuals, acoustic sensors help through sounds. After all, arent birds and animals also vocal? These automated monitoring devices can record sounds for a long time - helping researchers not just ascertain the presence of animals and birds but also analyse the data gathered to learn about the ecosystem, population density, change in wildlife behaviour and even human interference.

It is said that these devices are especially useful for aerial and underwater species. According to Mongabay, a non-profit environmental science and conservation news platform, researchers in Mexico were able to detect the decreasing number of vaquitas (a species of porpoise) through acoustic monitoring of their home in the Gulf of California.

Interestingly, journal Nature reported how acoustic recordings provide detailed information on wildlife behaviour during conservation translocations too - through a study that tested the efficacy of a collar-mounted acoustic recording unit to remotely monitor the behaviour of panda mothers and their dependent young.

In March 2018, the last male of the northern white rhinoceros died. Though the species is on the brink of extinction - there are only two ageing females left on the planet - not all hope is lost. The highly advanced technology of stem cells could still save the species, feel scientists.

Stem cells can become any cell in the body. And this process involves researchers removing cells from frozen rhino tissue, which would be reprogrammed into stem cells that would then become sperm and eggs. And the resulting union has the potential to give rise to an embryo of the northern white rhino. It sounds like a rather simple plan but its execution is not without complexities (such as finding a healthy female to implant the embryo in). So, though realising this dream could be years away, this technology does revive hope for many such species on the brink of extinction.

This illustration of a Vaquita Marina, provided by Greenpeace, shows an image of the highly endangered sea mammal swimming in the sea. Mexicos president, its richest man and actor Leonardo DiCaprio have signed an agreement that aims to protect marine ecosystems in the upper Gulf of California where the vaquita porpoise is critically endangered. (Greenpeace via AP)

After habitat loss, the greatest threat to biodiversity comes in the form of illegal wildlife trade, affecting not just animals but plants too. And at the heart of this illegal trade lie poachers. With many wildlife reserves having to make do with a limited number of rangers, its drones that come in handy to watch out for or thwart poachers.

Fitted with heat-sensitive infra-red optics (which can easily spot warm-blooded mammals - including humans - even at night), these drones become particularly helpful to spot poachers who usually work stealthily under the cover of darkness.

In fact, reports suggest that drones played an invaluable role in forest surveillance during the lockdown in our country. More help in anti-poaching initiatives come in the form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. AI systems combined with cameras are known to help rangers detect and stop poachers before they strike, and even predict where poachers are most likely to strike.

Facial recognition software too have been used to identify injured animals of a group, especially among endangered species, that could fall prey to poaching. Interestingly, sirens are useful too - not just to ward off poachers. A study has shown that sirens were effective in keeping rhinos off problem areas such as perimeter fences where poachers are likely to strike. By establishing such avoidance behaviours in animals, technology can aid in anti-poaching efforts at relatively low costs, the study indicated.

In todays world where hashtags create mass global movements, the role of social media in environment conservation is as huge as it is indispensable. Pictures, videos, content and data shared widely on many social media platforms generate not just curiosity but also awareness and conversations around conservation.

From reports of palm oil-induced habitat destruction to debates on the governments new policies on the environment, information is shared widely at the click of a button. More importantly, reports suggest that the younger generation learns a lot about the natural world and its conservation through the virtual world.

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Technology to natures rescue - The Hindu