Free Republic

The text of the cardinal published in “L’espresso” greatly irritated the Church’s leadership. Some have interpreted it as the manifesto of an antipope. Here is a summary of the reactions, plus a commentary by Pietro De Marco ROMA, April 28, 2006 – At a Vatican accustomed to the crystal-clear preaching of pope Joseph Ratzinger, with the truth of heavenly and earthly things carved out neatly each time with a fine chisel, the ten pages of doubts, hypotheses, and “gray areas” of cardinal Carlo Maria Martini in dialogue with bioethicist Ignazio Marino published in last week’s edition of “L’espresso” came like...

Challenging the bedrock verity of mammalian biology that a female's eggs, like private reserve wines, are made one time only, in limited numbers, and are apt to turn to vinegar if left on the shelf too long, researchers have found startling evidence that the ovaries may instead be replenished with new eggs throughout a female's reproductive career. Dr. Jonathan Tilly and his colleagues at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital report in today's issue of the journal Nature that they have discovered multiple signposts of germ-line stem cells in the ovaries of young and adult female mice: powerful...