Saturday, July 22, 2006

Myths About Stem Cell Research Hi!  I've moved to a new address.  To jump to an updated version of this posting, please click here.   Things Your Representatives Don't Know About Embryonic Stem Cell Research This posting at Wired.com (by Steven Edwards) is essential reading for those of us who want to jump into the stem cell debate.  There is a lot of long information out there, it appears.   Entitled "Congress' Top 10 Stem Cell Flubs," it identified 10 examples of wrong information that various members of Congress have cited in support of their various positions.   According to this article, it is not IN FACT the case that embryos are either used in research or thrown away, as both Senator Arlen Spector (R-Pennsylvania) and Senator Christopher Dodd (R-Connecticut) have stated.  According to this article, these statements are misleading.  [quote begins] "A 2002 study found at the time that 88 percent of the 400,000 embryos in frozen storage at fertility clinics across the country were on hold for families who might want to have another baby. Only 11,000 embryos were specifically donated to research."  [quote ends; link in original] Like the senators, I overstated the case in my recent posting---I assumed that MOST embryos are either going to be used for research or thrown out, and it turns out that only about 11,000 are actually allocated for research purposes.  This information doesn't change my conclusions since the 11,000 donated embryos WILL be either used for research or thrown away.  The others aren't in danger of being used for research anyway.  For those who want to get it right, here is a 'cheat sheet' published at Wired.Com that gives information about stem cells, what they are, how they are currently being used, and what the real issue really is. 1:59:52 AM    So you say!  [] Good News from Senator Inhofe Hi!  I've moved to a new address!  To see an updated version of this posting, please click here.   Good News on Global Warming:  Inhofe alleges Gore "Full of Crap;" Climate change a hoax!  Phew, that's a relief. As we're shufflling toward the Apocalypse, at least I don't have to worry about the pesky problem of climate change.  For a sea-level dwelling Floridian in particular, this announcement is most welcome.  According to this posting from Think Progress, Senator Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) debunks the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.  Check out the link; you'll enjoy it. As Senator Inhofe modestly states, "It turns out that I was right all along."  Whereas you and I might have had the impression that the IPCC relied on the reports of thousands of scientists, Inhofe has learned that they relied on only one.  [quote from transcript portion included at Think Progress] [T]he more I checked into it, the things started with the United Nations, the International Panel on Climate Control, and they used one scientist. And his name was Michael Mann, the famous hockey stick — remember that — where he plotted the temperatures that went all the way across on a horizontal line, then you got to the 20th century and it started going up. Well, one thing they forgot to do is put in the medieval warming period, which was from about 900 to 1400 A.D., when it was warmer then than it is now....  So in all of the recent science, as I`ve mentioned on your radio show, it confirms that I was right on this thing. This thing is a hoax. [quote from transcript portion included at Think Progress ends] Before reading this article, I had only Lord Wakeham's assurance that a little global warming isn't necessarily a bad thing to console me, particularly after Al Gore's cruel film (in which the homeless, drowning polar bears desperately seeking a piece of ice to rest upon were a particularly nasty twist of the knife).  So thanks, Senator, for setting the record straight!  Now assure me that the victims of last year's hurricanes are housed and safe, that there will be no further hurricanes this summer, and that things are going to work out fine in the Middle East, and I can rest easy once more.  1:27:07 AM    So you say!  []

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