Seven existing Vanguard centers, located primarily at major research universities across the US, are scheduled to start enrolling pregnant women during 2008 as part of the planned National Children's Study.
An additional twenty-two centers are slated to be added as part of the $3.2 billion project aimed at finding cures to some of the nation's most pressing health problems.
The study will be the largest ever to look at the ways in which environment and genetics interact to influence child health and human development.
Some highlights of the Act include: The initial estimate of the cost of this study was approximately $2.7 billion over a span of 25 years.
However, during the planning phase, the study fell short of funding which, as a result, made people more doubtful about the possibility of the program.