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A panel of scientists and legal experts appointed by the government has drawn up a recommendation that will form the basis of new guidelines for Japan's world-leading embryonic research. There is widespread support in Japan for research that has raised red flags in other countries. Scientists plan to introduce a human stem cell into the embryo of an animal – most likely a pig – to create what is termed a "chimeric embryo" that can be implanted into an animal's womb. That will then grow into a perfect human organ, a kidney or even a heart, as the host animal...

The Oxford English Dictionary defines "poison" as "a substance that is capable of causing the illness or death of a living organism when introduced or absorbed." The legal definition of the term is "any product or substance that can harm someone if it is used in the wrong way, by the wrong person, or in the wrong amount." The medical condition of poisoning is even broader: It can be caused by substances that are not even legally required to carry the label "poison." Therefore, can food become poisonous? Of course it can if it is infected, tampered with or altered...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Protesters rallied in dozens of cities Saturday as part of a global protest against seed giant Monsanto and the genetically modified food it produces, organizers said. Organizers said "March Against Monsanto" protests were held in 52 countries and 436 cities, including Los Angeles where demonstrators waved signs that read "Real Food 4 Real People" and "Label GMOs, It's Our Right to Know."… The U.S. Senate this week overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would allow states to require labeling of genetically modified foods.

The Capitol architect wanted to reanimate George Washington’s dead body George Washington may have been America's first president, but was he nearly America's first zombie-in-chief? If William Thornton, physician and designer of the US Capitol, had had his way, Washington's body would have been subjected a scientific experiment designed to bring the deceased former president back to life. In December 1799, 67-year-old George Washington took a ride through the wet winter rain and, shortly afterward, developed a fever and a sore throat. When his condition became so bad that Washington could no longer swallow the concoctions of vinegar, molasses, and...

From Greece to California, the liberal dream is dead.This Fourth of July, what remains is the Founders’ vision of a limited government; the idea of a population united by common values, themes, and ideas; a republican form of checks-and-balances government to prevent demagoguery, factions, and tyranny of the majority; the sanctity and autonomy of the nation-state; and individual freedom and liberty as protected through the Bill of Rights. Everything after and against that has proved a failure. Indeed, what makes this Fourth different from recent celebrations is the ongoing repudiation of almost everything antithetical to the Founders’ views — the...

AlGore? Mother Earth to AlGore. Come in AlGore Guest editorial by Rob Roselli Whatever happened to Frankenstein’s modern assistant AlGore and his global warming/global cooling/climate change minions? As with most everything else with the current Star Wars Bar scene freak show/Ivy League reunion Administration and its enigmatic leader (more on this later) AlGore and his minions have gone into hiding. This is for good reason. That is if the legitimate scientific method is employed to analyze his Magnus opus as I have done in a link on my web site entitled “The Inconvenient Scientific Method”. Not coincidentally, the link is...

One of my favorite websites it aintitcool.com. It's a media fan site geared toward horror, SciFi, anime...that kind of thing. It's also often profane so I always hesitate posting from there. Regardless they have a daily feature titled, aptly enough, "The Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day" I love the original Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein so I wanted to post this and share it. I'll post the photo for those who don't want to go to the site.

Google wants you to notice it every time there’s something memorable, worth a look into. Google [U.K.], today has honored Mary Shelley on her 213th Birthday, with a Gothic Wall Doodle. While the wall looked quite spooky in the first look, looking at it closely, I found the 4th picture frame/portrait looking more like Mary Shelley herself [or is it only me?]. Hovering your mouse over the new Google Doodle which show you “Mary Shelley’s 213th Birthday” and clicking on it [usually un-clickable] will take you to “Mary Shelley” search results page. [visit: Google.co.uk] About Mary Shelley: She was born...

Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) is caught dozing off during Elena Kagan's open statement at her Supreme Court confirmation hearing.

In the new movie "Splice," a human-animal hybrid terrorizes people. In real life, scientists argue mixing human and animal cells could save lives.Dren, the half-human, half-animal hybrid set to terrorize Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley in the new movie "Splice," is pure science fiction, but politicians across the country aren't taking any chances. In the last month Ohio and Arizona have both passed laws forbidding research of animal human hybrids. Proponents of the laws fear Dren-like creations and object morally to the combining human and animal cells. But scientists say the research could lead to cure for AIDS, immunize people...

IT'S ALIVE!!!Visions of Dr. Frankenstein creating his monster came to mind with the news yesterday that artificial life had been "created" in the laboratory. Unfortunately, for the mainstream media hypemeisters, a scientist has tossed cold water upon that bold assertion. And who was the killjoy scientist raining on the MSM parade hyping this event? Why, it was the scientist, J. Craig Ventner himself, who was being credited in the media for being a latter day Dr. Frankenstein as you can see in this San Diego Union-Tribune report: J. Craig Venter, the La Jolla biologist who played a key role in...

'Artificial Life' Breakthrough Announced By Scientists Thursday, 20 May 2010 The synthetic cell looks identical to the "wild type" Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first synthetic living cell. The researchers constructed a bacterium's "genetic software" and transplanted it into a host cell. The resulting microbe then looked and behaved like the species "dictated" by the synthetic DNA. The advance, published in Science, has been hailed as a scientific landmark, but critics say there are dangers posed by synthetic organisms. The researchers hope eventually to design bacterial cells that will produce medicines and fuels and even absorb...

President Obama, congressional Democrats and labor leaders cut a sweetheart deal last week. They agreed to create a loophole for a new 40 percent tax on "Cadillac" health care plans. In their holy bid to take care of their own, this new triumvirate agreed to exempt from the excise tax union-bargained health care plans and state and local government employees until 2018. Obamaland's continual deal-cutting to deliver a bill - any bill - surely will kill the beast. Now Big Labor is on board, but the administration has just told the vast majority of American workers (who are not union...

The first so-called “DNA cloning” was performed in 1972 by Molecular Biologist Paul Berg who integrated and expanded a quimeric gene - a mixture of both bacterial and viral origin. Since then, Escherichia Coli (a Gram negative bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded animals; vegetal cloning (largely used in agronomy since the mid-1960s), and animal cloning (from reptiles, fish and amphibian) have been instrumental in paving the way to the successful cloning of mammals since 1986, which cleared the way for human reproductive cloning, leading us to the scientists who vehemently oppose the practice.....

First...we must get the racism out of the way.... Then there would that little trouble with right-wing protesters, and how to deal with them. Then, of course, there is the FINNALL SOLUUUUTIONNN, the reinvention of health care as we know it....

The comedian Al Franken will be welcomed by fellow Democrats at a lunch on Capitol Hill today after he has been sworn in as senator, taking the party’s Senate vote bank to the magic threshold of 60. His arrival makes the Democrats the first party in three decades to attain the fabled super majority, allowing them – in theory – to override Republican filibusters and implement their legislative agenda. A week after Mr Franken was declared Senator of Minnesota, however, doubts are growing as to how politically useful a super majority will be when the hard bargaining over controversial issues...

After the Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously rejected his lawsuit today, Republican Norm Coleman graciously conceded the bitterly disputed contest over the second U.S. Senate seat for Minnesota. None of this changes the fact that as a senator Al Franken is not legitimate. The election was stolen at the precinct level, during the recount, and during the post-election litigation. Never forget the role that ACORN played in this. As ACORN-aligned Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, a former community organizer, presided over the vote-counting process, Coleman's original lead dwindled. The morning after the election, Coleman led Franken by 725 votes. Over the...

Republican Norm Coleman's lead in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race grew slightly today as a special board began refereeing more than a thousand disputed ballots. Coleman led Democrat Al Franken by 264 votes, up from 188, after the five-member state Canvassing Board spent some five hours squinting at piles of ballots trying to figure out exactly what voters intended. Coleman's gain may be deceptive, since the board focused almost entirely on challenges from the Franken campaign that were mostly brought to try to keep a Coleman vote off the board. Coleman added 98 votes to his total and Franken picked up...

One Democratic operative suggests keeping track of Barack Obama’s cabinet selections with a March Madness-type tournament chart. While no official announcements have been made, a controlled series of leaks have given a good sense of who's still in contention, and which big names have been bounced from the bracket. The new administration still has some major posts to fill, including heads for the departments of Defense, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Labor, and Energy, not to mention the Environmental Protection Agency. But a number of the biggest prizes seem to have already been won, and a handful of serious contenders...

Minnesota Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008, after a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid of Nev