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Ales Rarus
A Rare Bird, A Strange Duck, One Funky Blog
random thought of the moment:
The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then they get elected and prove it.
— P.J. O'Rourke
stem cells cloning
Concerns about Huckabee
I at first found Mike Huckabee to be an interesting character, as a possible bright point in the dismal lineup of presidential candidates. Unfortunately, his character did not bear up well when I looked at him further, and I'm sorry to see that some bloggers like Rod Dreher still think he's a viable politician or […]
Skin Cells induced to become embryonic-like cells
We now know more of the reason why Ian Wilmut left the human cloning research behind. Researchers from two labs (Yamanaka in San Fran. and Japan, Thomson in Madison) have induced mature somatic cells to become embryonic-like stem cells, matching all the experimental criteria for embryonic stem cells. This new class of stem cells is […]
Ian Wilmut Scuttles Cloning Research
You read it right the first time, folks. Ian Wilmut, the cloner of Dolly the sheep, is giving up on human cloning in favor of stem cell regression, wherein one takes an adult cell and reprograms it into becoming an embryonic-like stem cell. (A briefer overview can be seen here.)
Good News from Magee
Magee-Womens Hospital has opened a umbilical cord blood bank for either public clinical use or research. This a great boon for raising awareness of a rich, ethically acceptable source of stem cells. Kudos to Magee and Carol Berger for spearheading this, and if you know people expecting to have a baby at Magee, encourage them […]
Sloppy Science Reporting and Cloning Research Update
The media has a long, long way to go in reporting science: "South Korea to resume human egg cloning", trumpets the United Press International article.Umm, guys, the idea is to clone humans using eggs, but not to clone the eggs (or ova) themselves. In the defense of UPI, though, while the title is wrong, the […]
