From WebMD: “We don’t need any eggs or embryos at all,” says Shinya Yamanaka, MD, a professor at the Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences in Kyoto, Japan. Yamanaka describes his lab’s early successes in mice creating stem cells from adult cells. His research involves isolating two dozen chemicals that give embryonic stem cells their ability … Continue reading
>Ever been the only conservative in the room? I can go one better: a woman from Rhode Island responded to my confession that I’m a conservative by saying that we should talk, since she’d never had a conversation with a conservative before and she wanted to understand how we think. BTW, before I go on, … Continue reading
Isn’t it amazing how many of the most controversial news and public policy issues revolve around bioethics and medicine? I’ve noted before that all of the controversies (like those mentioned above, from the days surrounding the weekend of October 8-9, 2006) are actually only one: which humans will receive society’s protection of the inalienable right … Continue reading
Okay, that wasn’t the intended point of the Scientific American news article. While it should have been, the actual point that I think the authors here wanted to make (besides pushing embryonic stem cells, in the first place) was: Adult stem cells don’t do as well as fully-differentiated White Blood Cells in SCNT experiments in mice. … Continue reading
Maybe I should have called this column “I smell a rat.” All this fuss and bother that Sam Berger is making in today’s blog.bioethics.net “Guest Column” over the lack of federal funding of embryonic stem cells had me following links and searching Google half the night in an effort to decide whether or not Berger’s … Continue reading
Glenn McGee, one of the editors, pseudoeditors and bloggers over at the American Journal of Bioethics blog, Blog.Bioethics.net, posted a portion of his column, “The Kavorkianization of Dolly” for The Scientist. Subscription is required for The Scientist, but you can read part of the snide column on the blog.bioethics.net site (or here). It may be … Continue reading
>I’d call it the Dred Scott Syndrome. Paul Greenberg has written an editorial arguing against destructive and manipulative embryonic stem cell research and in favor of the veto by President George Bush of HR 810. The next ethical ridge to be crossed would then loom ahead: If it’s permissible to experiment on embryos destined to … Continue reading
Dr. Carlos Lima published his paper in the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine last month on the treatment of patients with their own stem cells, derived from olfactory stem cells found in the nasal mucosa. These stem cells are easily obtained with minimal risk and reproduce readily, both in the body and in culture. In … Continue reading
The Korean veterinarian, Hwang Wu Suk, who was the first author in the human cloning scheme that became a scandal, testified this week in his embezzlement trial. The headlines and focus that various news outlets chose is almost a story in itself. After seeing a LifeNews report that Hwang admits that he diverted research money … Continue reading
Wesley Smith’s “Secondhand Smoke” has a link to and short note on a report in the Journal of Spinal Cord Repair on Carlos Limos’ treatment of patients with their own olfactory mucosa stem cells. Looks legitimate and well documented. It’s late, but will get back to y’all when I’ve read it. In the meantime, let’s … Continue reading