OTOH, the article also notes that there are non-government-funded ESC efforts also underway, both here and abroad, which tells me that there's more to this than a bit of fraud. Kellmeyer's opinion about motivations is probably wrong The researchers involved are probably not "frauds," in the sense that they're sucking at the government teat for something they know to be unworkable. More likely, their motivation is to have steady money available for something they think they can make work.
In fact, the more I re-read Kellmeyer's article, the less I like it. He appears to be untruthful in some very important areas -- falsely accusing researchers (most of whom are earnest, even if morally on the wrong side); and undoubtedly misrepresenting the scientific case as well. Such slimy antics have the unfortunate side effect of making the underlying (and correct) point seem slimy as well.
That makes sense. I don't know enough about the science to make a judgement. But I don't have much sympathy for these scientists since they're either unethical or self-deluded.
Don't you think this devastating statement by a "stem cell researcher," quoted by Kellmeyer, does more than merely hint at "fraud" ?
“People need a fairy tale,” said Ronald D.G. McKay, a stem cell researcher at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, “Maybe that’s unfair, but they need a story line that’s relatively simple to understand.”
I hardly think that researcher is "earnest." If you have quotes from other ESC researchers that shows their "earnestness," I'd like to see them.
As to whether Kellmeyer is "undoubtedly misrepresenting the scientific case," please provide your evidence for that.
I suggest you first read the links in post #25, the second of which is a recent article published in the Washington Post -- a publication certainly not "biased" to the right.