There was a time, not so long ago, when the religious right hailed the discovery of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Headlines blared from the extreme right on the Internet such as, “Embryonic stem cells obsolete”. Even the same kind of thing, saying, “The stem cell debate is dead”. You see opponents of embryonic stem …
Why the extreme religious right are turning against iPS cells Read More »
The culture warriors of the Right to Life movement and some of the more radical elements in the Tea Party have waged war on embryonic stem cell (ESC) research and researchers. Tagging along like some reluctant bride has been the leadership of the Republican Party. Folks like Mitt Romney and his partner, Paul Ryan, now …
Has the culture war on stem cells turned into a cold war? Read More »
On Monday, I made a big stink about Texas GOP Governor Rick Perry visiting a lab (that of Jeanne Loring) at Scripps Research Institute here in California because the lab in question is a leading group doing human embryonic stem cell (HESC) and Perry is a strong opponent of such research. I thought the visit …
Great letter on Guv Perry’s California visit video from the artist Read More »
The Mainstream Media has cranked up its hyping of stem cell cosmetics and sports medicine just in the last week or so. It’s really disturbing. The message is unmistakable: stem cell-based sports medicine and cosmetics are cutting edge new medicines that because they work for the stars will also work for ordinary people too. ….Or …
Media is a hot mess over stem cell cosmetics & sports medicine Read More »
Lately the urban myth that there are embryonic stem cells in Pepsi has been spreading like wildfire. I’ve been doing some mythbusting part to squelch these flames (and not by pouring Pepsi on them), but it isn’t easy. Why does it even matter if some folks are going around saying there are embryonic stem cells …
Why the Pepsi stem cell myth matters: the dangerous spread of fiction-based reality Read More »
The conflict in Ireland over stem cells is still brewing and bubbling this week as I’ve been blogging it. It is remarkable to me that as just one person I have in a few days been able to have a substantial impact in that dialogue via this blog. There has been a rather large push …
David vs Goliath in stem cells: the global power of blogs Read More »
A new article out by Susan Mitchell covers the key elements of a brewing, serious conflict in Ireland over stem cells. You can read the piece here, but warning you have to pay to read it. Here in this blog post I analyze the situation and give important quotes from the article. A pro-adult stem …
What’s the real story on adult stem cells? Do they really have little to no risk? As a self-proclaimed fan of stem cells, including adult stem cells, I often find myself writing and talking about them to a large, diverse audience. I’ve become a stem cell ambassador of sorts. However, I am also a realist …
The real, but oft-ignored risks of adult stem cell treatments Read More »
A lot of people are very upset at Pepsi for allegedly using stem cells in their research on artificial sweeteners. Why? What’s the real scoop here and what lessons can be learned from this more generally? I’ve been blogging as this controversy has evolved including posts such as Stem Cells in my Pepsi?, Stem cell myths: from …
The truth about Pepsi & Stem Cells: larger lessons to be learned Read More »
The venerable, unbiased website, LifeNews.com, reports that Pepsi has responded to the claims that there are fetal stem cells in their beverage and/or that Pepsi uses fetal stem cells for research. Pepsi responded that there are no fetal cells in any Pepsi products and further is quoted: “Thank you for contacting us at PepsiCo. There …