Plunderbund » Stem Cell

Having solved all of Ohio’s problems, Ohio Senate GOPers declare war on centaurs…

ModernEsquire — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:56:43 +0000

Having solved every other problem in Ohio, the Ohio Senate found itself apparently with time to spare, so they decided that they needed to end the non-existent practice of creating human-animal hybrids.

Then they went to Ohio Senate-Lobbyist Summer camp which Senate President Bill Harris is all excited about making a leather wallet and Senate Majority Floor Leader totally expects to kiss his first girl.

What the hell am I supposed to do with an entire stable of centaurs that I was raising to race once slot machines were permitted at horse racing tracks leading to [...]

Disgruntled former Bush administration official? Please take a number

Lorraine — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 06:14:00 +0000

Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona appeared Tuesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, charging that top Bush administration officials silenced him in his public health reports. According to Carmona, during his four-year term (2002-2006) he was not allowed to speak or issue reports regarding stem cells, emergency contraception, sex education, or prison, mental, and global health issues.

Regarding the politicization of his office, Carmona added that some other former Surgeon Generals told him, “We have never seen it as partisan, as malicious, as vindictive, as mean-spirited as it [...]

Embryonic research bans are causing birth defects

Brian — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 14:29:08 +0000

There was a terrific article in yesterday’s Washington Post that clearly lays out the evidence that federal bans on embryonic research – such as the stem cell research ban – are actually causing an increase in birth defects. (HT: Mahablog.)

The gist of the story is that the human reproductive system is optimized for a single fetus – not the litter-sized batches common with IVF. And multiple-births are on the rise.

Yet in the past 30 years, this country has experienced a stunning escalation in multiple births. The number of babies born as triplets, quadruplets or even more [...]

Say it With Me: Pluripotency

Eric — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 16:38:05 +0000

Bizzy asks the question: “When does it become OK to ask how many lives that could have been saved or improved by other stem cell research efforts have instead been sacrificed because of money diverted to the ‘Hail Mary’ black hole of embyronic stem cell research?”

First off I think to call embryonic stem cell research a hail mary black hole is a bit over the top – especially for the usually measured Tom Blumer. I’ll do my best to respond in a very measured fashion.

Tom, don’t be a fucking idiot. To treat embryonic and adult stem cell [...]