Stem Cell / Cloning Research
nisbetmc | January 20, 2007Later this weekend, I will have much more to say about this op-ed by Yuval Levin appearing in Friday's NY Times, so check back. The piece is a leading example of how stem cell opponents have honed a language in talking about stem cell research that imbues a technical topic with emotion, drama, and "yuck.".
nisbetmc | January 20, 2007
Science issues are lining up to be a big part of the political jockeying by the 2008 presidential hopefuls. Plans are in the works to make Framing Science the-go-to-site for news and insight tracking the candidates' strategies and positions. So stay tuned...but today, an update on the GOP side.
Former MA Gov. Mitt Romney has emerged as a hot ticket on the GOP fundraising trail, reportedly raising millions, and accumulating top staff to join his Boston HQ. Meanwhile, Washington buzz is that he is already the candidate of choice among Christian conservatives, based on his strong anti-…
nisbetmc | January 19, 2007While many schools pour hundreds of millions of dollars into athletics, more signs today that among the elite universities, stem cell research is at the center of competition. As I wrote last week, it's going to be difficult for Red State schools across the country to keep up in the national rankings as they are left behind in funding and support for research in regenerative biology by private institutions like Harvard, and public universities such as the UC schools, and after this fall, the SUNY system. From today's Boston Globe:
The Harvard University corporation will devote $50 million…
nisbetmc | January 18, 2007In the days before the House vote to fund embryonic stem cell research, the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times ran page one stories heralding a Nature Biotech study that indicated stem cells extracted from amniotic fluid might have "near pluripotent" like properties. Yet, despite the heavy attention from its competitive rivals, the New York Times was silent on the study. (For a full roundup.)
Not soon after the front page headlines appeared, as I predicted, the White House and various anti-abortion groups jumped on the study to claimed that it offered an important "middle way." Given the…
nisbetmc | January 15, 2007The same week Harvard unveiled its plans for a 250 acre Life Sciences campus, Scotland's University of Edinburgh announced a $115 million dollar Stem Cell Research Institute to be directed by Ian Wilmut. At universities across Europe, Asia, the US, and Canada, there's a race to be at the forefront of life sciences research.
Indeed, in the recent Chronicle of Higher Ed rankings of US universities, those schools with advanced medical and life sciences research dominated the top twenty. At public universities like UCSF, Berkeley, the other UC flagships, and the University of Wisconsin, their…
nisbetmc | January 15, 2007As I predicted last week in my column at Skeptical Inquirer Online, opponents of the House stem cell bill are arguing that science advocates have hyped both the promise and the public demand for research, while recent studies show a "middle way" compromise where funding for new embryonic stem cell lines is not needed. Consider, for example, this column by Yuval Levin at the Weekly Standard.
Meanwhile, the Bush White House, in a 67 page report strategically framed as "Advancing Stem Cell Science Without Destroying Human Life," argues that the latest adult stem cell studies make embryonic…
nisbetmc | January 14, 2007
There's a reason why Harvard continues to dominate institutional rankings. While some universities spend $100s of millions of dollars on their athletic programs and athletic facilities, Harvard sinks its $30 billion endowment into a 250 acre life sciences campus. From the news wires:
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - Harvard University unveiled plans on Thursday for a multibillion-dollar campus expansion that aims to turn America's oldest university into one of the world's top hubs for stem-cell research and other life sciences. The plan, years in the making, will give a radical new…
nisbetmc | January 14, 2007
In a fall 2007 bond proposal, incoming Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Lt. Gov. David Paterson are hoping to sell voters on spending up to $2 billion over 10 years to promote advances and economic development through research on stem cells and in other life sciences (Gannett News Service).
Back in 2005, a polling study conducted by the Survey Research Institute at Cornell University depicted a NY public, that while still yet to solidify their opinions, appear supportive of spending big state cash on stem cell research.
According to the results, 45% of NYers would be likely to vote for such a bond…
nisbetmc | January 11, 2007In the Senate, stem cell proponents figure that they have 66 to 67 votes lined up in support of the funding bill passed today in the House. As I previously noted, a number of options are on the table to overcome an anticipated Bush veto of the bill, but where does public opinion stand on the matter?
Back in the summer, when Bush vetoed a similar version of the bill, only 32% of the public in a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll favored the action. Asked slightly differently by Gallup, only 36% said they approved of the decision. More recently, in a poll released Jan. 4 by the Civil Society…
nisbetmc | January 11, 2007
This afternoon, as expected, the House passed the stem cell funding bill, 253 to 174, falling well short of the 290 votes needed to overturn a Bush veto. Debate now moves to the Senate, where news reports peg support teetering right at the 2/3 majority needed in the chamber to override the anticipated presidential veto.
So what are the options and where are things headed? A range of possibilities exist, with many floated this week in press reports:
a) Supporters keep passing versions of the bill, and Bush keeps vetoing, until public pressure builds, and either House members shift their…
nisbetmc | January 8, 2007As I predicted, stem cell opponents have issued a press release "pleading" with Dems to hold off on a stem cell bill in light of the Nature Biotechnology study on amniotic stem cells:
Christian Groups Urge Pelosi to Hold Off Embryonic Stem Cell Bills Based on New Scientific Discovery
A growing coalition of Faith organizations are expected to hand-deliver a letter to Speaker Pelosi this week.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 /Christian Newswire/ -- Groundbreaking scientific advances in stem cell research released today by Nature Biotechnology may resolve the decade-old moral dilemma concerning the…
nisbetmc | January 8, 2007The Washington Post has these details on the problems House Dems face as they juggle Iraq with the agenda items of stem cell research, minimum wage, and other domestic issues.
nisbetmc | January 8, 2007In an article fronting today's Washington Post, Rick Weiss gives us a preview of the rhetorical struggle that is sure to be part of this week's House stem cell debate, namely the efforts by research opponents to spin the amniotic stem cell study as a "middle way" compromise solution to overturning Bush's flawed stem cell policy.
Atala and other scientists emphasized that they don't believe the cells will make embryonic stem cells irrelevant. "There's not going to be one shoe that fits all," said Robert Lanza, scientific director at Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester, Mass. "We're going to…
nisbetmc | January 8, 2007
This week all eyes will be on Capitol Hill as Nancy Pelosi and the newly elected House majority push for stem cell legislation that would override President George W. Bush's tight limits on research funding. Supporters will need to achieve a super majority in both houses in order to stave off a Bush veto. The Center for American Progress estimates that backers of the bill might be as many as 40 votes shy of a 2/3 majority in the House, but perhaps only one vote shy in the Senate.
Both sides in the debate are geared up for a major political communication battle, and in a new "Science and…
nisbetmc | December 19, 2006
The Washington Post profiles Rudy Giuliani's prospects for the GOP nomination. If "America's Mayor" has to bolster his support from conservatives, on which social issues is it easiest for Giuliani to move to the right?
Given his past record as mayor of NYC , it will be difficult for him to shift position on gay rights or on sex ed.Yet it is still possible for him to carve out a position on embryonic stem cell research that would be in line with President Bush's policy of restricted funding." Not only would evangelicals support the move, but adopting Bush's position would also appease…
nisbetmc | December 18, 2006
For those closely watching Gov. Mitt Romney's presidential prospects, and what a Romney presidency might look like in terms of science-related policy questions such as stem cell research, abstinence education, and emergency contraception, you will want to check out this Sunday Boston Globe article:
In Governor Mitt Romney's metamorphosis from social moderate to self-styled conservative presidential candidate, Nov. 9, 2004 , stands out as a seminal date. On that day, Romney and two aides met in his State House office with renowned Harvard University stem cell researcher Douglas A. Melton. In…
nisbetmc | December 16, 2006
BBC NEWS CAPTION: "There is heated debate about the ethics of using stem cells"
What's wrong with this picture and caption?
As the BBC reports the horrifying discovery that healthy babies in the Ukraine may have been killed for body parts, including stem cells derived from bone marrow, the news organization also runs a photo and tagline implying that the scandal involves embryonic stem cells.
Even more confusion is featured at conservative news sites like LifeSite.Net:
Ukraine has long heralded itself as a leader in modern science's embryonic stem cell quest. BBC News reports that video…
nisbetmc | December 5, 2006
Parita Shah from the Center for Genetics and Society has an interesting op-ed in the Mercury News reflecting on the campaign tactics used by both sides this last election cycle to argue their case on stem cell research. Here's an excerpt from the Mercury News op-ed.
Whether or not the issue factored into this year's election results, voters heard a lot about it. Typically, this would be all to the good. Stem-cell research is complex and important. Unfortunately, the campaign treatment of stem-cell research also demonstrated that such a complex issue gets simplified and distorted beyond…
nisbetmc | December 4, 2006
The Associated Press reports that outgoing MA Gov. Mitt Romney has appointed Aaron D'Elia, a state budget director with no formal scientific background, to be executive director of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, an agency created by the legislature to distribute state funding for stem cell research.
TMP Cafe notes that in selecting D'Elia, Romney is signalling that he prefers idelogical compatriotism over expertise, pandering to social conservatives in the lead up to his planned 2008 presidential run.
University of Massachusetts President Jack Wilson voted against the appointment…
nisbetmc | October 29, 2006
It used to be that candidates posed with babies, and George W. Bush still does, especially when using photo-ops to frame instantly for the public that stem cell research is really about "research on young humans." To fight back, proponents of stem cell research are trading babies for white lab coats and instruments.
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle is just one of several Democrats across the country using their support for stem cell research to draw contrasts to their Republican opponent, in Doyle's case Congressman Mark Green. He's also the latest candidate to benefit from the endorsement of…