January 1, 2007
In writing the last post, I discovered Edge, an online community for “the third culture” that claims modestly, “Its informal membership includes of some of the most interesting minds in the world.” Edge asserts that “third culture” intellectuals “are taking … Read More
January 1, 2007
Some scientists and adherents of scientism keep trying to put more on the shoulders of science than the discipline is capable managing. Now, apparently, some among the elites of science predict that it will somehow do away with racism and … Read More
January 1, 2007
Keep in mind that this is a company press release, but I think it is worth noting just the same:Mesoblast, an Australian adult stem cell company, has received FDA approval for conducting a “Phase 2” trial using adult stem cells … Read More
December 31, 2006
This story about the fuss being raised over experiments to turn “gay” sheep “straight” is a preview of coming attractions of the bitter arguments that will be unleashed if parents gain the power to biotechnologically mold their progeny to suit … Read More
December 29, 2006
You would think that the MSM could at least get the simple facts about euthanasia correct. But no. In this AP piece, the wire service purports to summarize euthanasia laws around the world. And, true to type, it is mostly … Read More
December 29, 2006
Researchers seeking to use cellular treatments to relieve hemophilia have centered on tissues taken from rudimentary spleens of late stage pig embryos. The experimenters used the spleen cells to treat mice, and it appears to have worked. But note that … Read More
December 29, 2006
Derek Humphry, the suicide guru and founder of the aptly named Hemlock Society (now the euphemistically called Compassion and Choices), has a post on his blog that, I think, illustrates the death obsession of most euthanasia activists. Humphry got famous … Read More
December 29, 2006
I was interviewed by Lifebeat, a radio program affiliated, I think, with Michigan Right to Life. It is a brief look back to 2006 in which we mainly discuss the pending release of Jack Kevorkian and the passage in Missouri … Read More
December 28, 2006
The January 07 issue of Christianity Today (no link available) has a fine editorial warning against what it calls an “ethic of immortality” that has “warped our culture’s perspective” and that of the church. It quotes Leon Kass–always a good … Read More
December 28, 2006
Bobby Schindler reports some good news about his father: Bob has fully stabilized and he is being transferred today from the hospital to a rehabilitation center. Bob experienced no cognitive deficiencies from his strokes, but does need to work on … Read More
December 28, 2006
Here’s some interesting news: Greenpeace has come out forcefully against the growing Science/Industrial Complex in Germany (which, by the way, has a more “conservative” ESCR policy than the USA). It sued to prevent a German scientist from patenting a process … Read More
December 27, 2006
The Week has named my piece in the Daily Standard on Jack Kevorkian to the “Best Columns: The U.S.” in the December 29 edition. It includes a nice summary of what I wrote. (No link available.) My thanks and appreciation … Read More
December 27, 2006
Jack Kevorkian will soon be out of jail, and the current edition of Brave New Bioethics explores the infamous career of “Dr. Death,” including his desire to open euthanasia clinics, his disdain for people with disabilities, and his desire to … Read More
December 26, 2006
Dr. James Shirley, an adult stem cell scientist, has lost his appeal and will be denied tenure at MIT. Shirley, who is African-American, is charging racism. I can’t comment about that, or whether Shirley’s academic credentials would warrant tenure. But … Read More
December 26, 2006
There is word out of the UK that obese people and smokers may be denied “priority” care in the UK under potential new NHS standards. The idea, of course, is to induce people into more healthy lifestyles, which in turn, … Read More
December 22, 2006
This experiment determined that adult stem cells in a specific region of the mouse brain have a built-in mechanism that allows the cells to participate in the repair and remodeling of damaged tissue in the region . . . “The … Read More
December 21, 2006
An Indian court has granted damages to the owner of an elephant killed in an auto accident because the pachyderm was “on par” with a human because it could obey commands and do tricks, etc. Well, then the owner had … Read More
December 21, 2006
Brave New Britain is at it again. Cloning researchers have been given the right to ask women to donate eggs for use in biotechnological experiments. Before now, egg procurement for research had to be done in association with fertility or … Read More
December 21, 2006
Robert Schindler, Terri Schiavo’s father, has had a stroke and is in a hospital intensive care unit. He is conscious. At present, the doctors are trying to stabilize his condition. Once that is done, he will be transferred to a … Read More
December 20, 2006
Best selling author Michael Crichton warned in last Friday’s Wall Street Journal (no link available) that people’s cells and body substances are no longer necessarily their own, once removed from the body. Scientists can use your cells and blood to … Read More
December 20, 2006
Facts don’t matter any more, only narratives. And now this deconstruction of reality is infecting biology and medicine. I have previously described here and in my other writing about how the term human embryo has been redefined from a scientific … Read More
December 19, 2006
Cloning research ‘clearly upsets the general public’ yet it has limited potential for treating disease and adds little to scientific understanding of human biology, according to Professor Austin Smith of the University of Cambridge . . . ‘Its prominence is … Read More
December 19, 2006
A report out of the UK envisions robots someday having rights. From the Financial Times: If we make conscious robots they would want to have rights and they probably should,’ said Henrik Christensen, director of the Centre of Robotics and … Read More
December 19, 2006
Now that Amendment 2 has passed–which did not include public funding because that would have made it harder to win–we now get to the whipsawing. Business leaders are urging Missouri lawmakers to get with it and improve the atmosphere for … Read More
December 19, 2006
The bias in the reportage about human cloning and stem cells has been complained about so frequently to KC Star reporters and editors that there is no question they know precisely what they are doing when they publish scientifically inaccurate … Read More
