Whether it is people or cells, how much control do we really have over their behavior? Very little. The Secret Service is at the center of a huge international scandal involving prostitution and potentially compromised nationally security. Clearly, the Secret Service failed to do their incredibly important job of protecting the President and national security, […]
Scandalous stem cell behavior? 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
Stem Cell Conflict Erupting in Ireland Read More »
Is Vitamin D a miracle drug or a disappointment like almost all other vitamins? Just recently there was a piece saying that Vitamin D may reduce pain. Today there was another news article saying Vitamin D may protect men against more aggressive prostate cancer. You name the condition and Vitamin D is claimed to help with
Vitamin D: is this supplement helpful or hype-ful? Read More »
Does the Vatican view the American pro-lifers as a bunch of wacky extremists? An article today certainly suggest this. What’s going on? The Vatican, Catholics more generally, and “pro-lifers”, as designated by the Catholic website CatholicCulture.org are still apparently very much at odds over a now cancelled Vatican conference on stem cells that would have included
It’s a confusing time at the Vatican, which arguably has an international stem cell scandal of its own making on its hands. What the heck is going on? In an embarrassing move, they organized a stem cell conference for this year and then abruptly cancelled it, with the reason being that they had originally invited
Vatican flunks Pepsi Challenge on Stem Cells? Read More »
Cancer invokes powerful feelings so it is not surprising that there are a lot of harmful myths and urban legends out there about it. As a cancer researcher and cancer survivor, I can see it from both the biomedical research side and the patient side. Here’s my top 10 list of myths & legends about
Harmful cancer myths & urban legends Read More »
Are stem cells a drug? Should the FDA regulate them? Technically, the FDA calls stem cells “biologics”, but the FDA regulates stem cell products with the goal of ensuring safety and efficacy much the same as traditionally define chemical “drugs”. You can learn more about the FDA’s view of and concerns about stem cells here and here.
Are stem cells drugs? Read More »
We have another Vatican stem cell meeting coming up this spring. This meeting raises some extremely important questions and complex issues at the interface of science, religion, philosophy and ethics. From the perspective of scientists, an important issue is whether (assuming one is invited) to attend such a meeting and if one does attend, is
Vatican Stem Cell Meeting 2.0: from stem cells to prison cells to hell? Read More »
How should we all handle cyber safety issues? Could someone be stealing your work-related or personal data while you travel? If you have recently traveled outside the U.S., particularly to China or Russia, I have bad news for you because you may have already been hacked. Check out this article in the NY Times about how dangerous
Helpful cyber safety tips for trips Read More »
Interestingly, the Komen Foundation appears open to funding human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research. The latest report from Science includes a quote from Komen that denies any changes in funding policy for research and suggests they have not ruled out funding such research: Contrary to circulating online reports, Komen has not “de-funded” any grantee based on human embryonic stem
Komen Foundation open to funding human embryonic stem cell research Read More »