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This piece ran originally in the New York Sun last Friday for their weekend edition. "In the wake of Ron Reagan’s appearance at the Democratic Convention, John Kerry has tried to make stem-cell research a featured policy difference between Kerry and George Bush. His campaign website talks about “ideologically-driven restrictions” from the Bush administration and promises to lift the “ban on stem cell research.” In a recent Wall Street Journal editorial outlining his economic plan, Kerry writes that he will restore America’s competitive edge by working to “end the ban on stem-cell research.” In fact, it may be the most...

Missed Opportunities in Embryonic Stem-Cell ResearchGeorge Q. Daley, M.D., Ph.D. New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 351:627-628, Number 7 Three years have passed since August 9, 2001, when President George W. Bush drew a line in the sand: he announced that research on human embryonic stem cells created before that date would be supported by federal dollars; research on lines created later would not. The President's policy has severely curtailed opportunities for U.S. scientists to study the cell lines that have since been established, many of which have unique attributes or represent invaluable models of human disease. Full Article

You might not know about it from listening to the news lately, [but] the President also looks forward to medical breakthroughs that may arise from stem cell research. Few people know that George W. Bush is the only President to ever authorize federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. --Laura Bush The First Lady was way too polite: The way stem cells have been reported, you'd think we were in a new Dark Ages, with government-backed religious inquisitors threatening scientists on the cusp of life-saving treatments. Reinforcing this misimpression are the headlines and commentators talking up a "ban" on research....

Kerry Says He Will Lift Stem Cell Ban and Restore America's Scientific Leadership During Radio Address 8/7/2004 11:11:00 AM To: National Desk, Political Reporter Contact: Allison Dobson of Kerry-Edwards 2004, 202-464-2800; Web: http://www.johnkerry.com WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is a release of Kerry-Edwards 2004: With Monday marking the three year anniversary of George Bush's far-reaching ban on stem cell research, Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry used his radio address to the nation Saturday to assure the American people that he will overturn this ban as president as part of his comprehensive plan to put America back on the...

Ron Reagan Wrong on Stem Cells Thursday, July 15, 2004 By Steven Milloy Ron Reagan, the younger son of the late Republican president, announced this week that he would give a prime-time address in support of stem cell research at the Democratic National Convention in Boston later this month. "Ron Reagan's courageous pleas for stem cell research add a powerful voice to the millions of Americans hoping for cures for their children, for their parents and for their grandparents," said a spokesman for John Kerry to the Associated Press. Reagan told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the speech was intended "to...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (Reuters) - Former First Lady Nancy Reagan made an impassioned call for taking controversial stem cell research out of the political arena, saying it could help cure illnesses like Alzheimer's, which so sorely afflicts her husband. With the Bush administration and anti-abortion groups strongly opposing stem cell research, Mrs. Reagan at a celebrity-packed dinner in Beverly on Saturday night lent a powerful conservative Republican voice to the debate. Speaking to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Mrs. Reagan noted that Alzheimer's had taken her husband Ronald Reagan "to a distant place where I can no longer reach him...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- A study in mice indicates that contrary to previous thinking, a type of adult stem cell derived from bone does not give rise to new heart and brain cells when transplanted into the body. The finding that this type of stem cell might not be as medically beneficial as researchers had hoped likely will have a significant impact on the political debate over embryonic and adult stem cells. Embryonic stem cells have a proven capacity to regenerate damaged tissue and offer the potential of treating diseases, such as Parkinson's and diabetes. Some groups, however, oppose...

The phenomenon that leads to "virgin births" in some species looks like a promising source of embryonic stem cells. Researchers are on the brink of obtaining human stem cells this way for the first time, and animal experiments suggest such cells are indistinguishable from normal stem cells. In parthenogenesis, an unfertilised egg keeps two sets of chromosomes and begins developing as if it had been fertilised. Some insects and reptiles can reproduce this way but even though an electric or chemical stimulus can induce parthenogenesis in mammals, the resulting embryos die after a few days And that, according to its...

EXPERIMENTS ON DOOMED SHUTTLE INCLUDED STEM-CELL RESEARCH According to the Jerusalem Post, experiments planned for the Columbia included stem-cell research -- controversial because it involves the issue of cloning. "Among the materials taken along are genetically engineered adult stem cell cultures, which will be used for an experiment prepared by scientists from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem," the newspaper reported on January 17. "It focuses on building new, specialized cells by isolating adult stem cells taken from bone marrow and converting them into bone, cartilage, or tendon cells by introducing specific genes into them." According to the newspaper, the experiment...

The Triune Brain illustration from The three units of the human Brain -Júlio Rocha do Amaral, & Jorge Martins de Oliveira (image somewhat degraded to speed up download) Paul MacLean discovery of the The Triune Brain The Reptilian Brian The Limbic System (Paleomammalian brain) The Neocortex (Neomammalian brain) Links The neurologist Paul MacLean has proposed that our skull holds not one brain, but three, each representing a distinct evolutionary stratum that has formed upon the older layer before it, like an archaeological site :He calls it the "triune brain."  MacLean, now the director of the Laboratory of Brain Evolution and...

Stem cells: Give us the cures, spare us the sermon Sunday, December 22, 2002[Newark, NJ] -- Paul Byrne has been a political operative in Jersey City for 25 years. He is one of those guys for whom politics is both vocation and avocation. He knows everybody in Democratic politics, and everybody knows him. Nine years ago, Byrne was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which has led to a retina condition called macular degeneration. At 57, and despite two operations on both eyes, he has lost 98 percent of his sight. But he keeps up with the news because four...

<p>A bill that would make New Jersey the second state in the nation to expressly declare that embryonic stem cell research is permitted was proposed yesterday by the state Senate's leading Democrat.</p> <p>Senate Co-President Richard Codey (D-Essex) said he believes the bill is necessary to make a statement against a pending proposal to impose a nationwide ban on the research, which is allowed in New Jersey. The measure also would set up procedures that would allow the donation of surplus embryos for medical research.</p>

When President Bush announced his decision on funding for stem cell research, he surprised the entire nation. The Left was expecting a purely negative decision, and they were all ready for another gleeful episode of bashing the anti-scientific Christian right. The pro-lifers and social conservatives were also expecting a purely negative decision, drawn along the line that all such research destroys very young human lives in order to extract potential benefits for older people. The President's eloquent and deeply thoughtful speech surprised both sides because it drew a moral line where neither side anticipated it. He drew the line between...

Newcastle hospital unveils adult stem cell research Wed, Apr 10 2002 1:25 PM AEST Newcastle hospital unveils adult stem cell research Newcastle surgeons will today release details of revolutionary adult stem cell research, which could help patients with coronary artery disease. It is understood a 74-year-old patient underwent a procedure this week at Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital, where adult stem cells were used to stimulate new blood vessel growth in the heart. The hospital is one of three taking part in an international trial which it is claimed could help 30 per cent of patients with end-stage coronary-artery disease. The...