u.s. food and drug

The Gopher State will be a happier place for babies come Jan. 1. That's when it enacts the first-ever ban on plastic sippy cups and baby bottles containing Bisphenol-A. The Federal government has yet to act on BPA, a controversial chemical feared to harm fetuses and children.

It's not easy being first. Biotech company Geron (GERN) had to wait more than a year before getting the green light from federal regulators in January to begin the first study using human embryonic stem cell-based therapies in humans. The early-stage trial is looking at the safety of its drug...