Wesley J. Smith

Good news on the IPSC front.  Scientists have created working liver cells from skin cells.  From the MSNBC story:British scientists have developed a new stem cell technique for growing working liver cells which could eventually avoid the need for costly and risky liver transplants. A team . . . . Continue Reading »

Art Caplan has a good article in the current American Journal of Bioethics about using prisoners as sources of organs.  He discusses both whether organ donation and execution should be joined, and whether prisoners should be offered early release in return for a kidney.  He says—and . . . . Continue Reading »

Good grief.  At about 48 seconds in, the embedded video shows OWS anti-capitalist protest zombie chanters channeling their inner transhumanism:Everything seems to be possible. [Crowd Parrot Chant] You can travel to the moon.  [CPC] You can become immortal [CPC] by biogenetics.  You . . . . Continue Reading »

Some of the most virulent animal rights protests have been against researchers using monkeys to find ways to help ameliorate the most difficult medical conditions we face.  Here’s a huge example.  Using monkeys enabled researchers to learn how to surgically implant electrodes into . . . . Continue Reading »

A few days ago, I criticized a government advisory panel’s recommendation to remove PSA screening as a covered service for healthy men.  It seemed to me that the recommendation missed the trees for the forest, that is, it looked too broadly at the issue, taking false positives, . . . . Continue Reading »

Christopher Hitchens may be the best short form writer working today.  Powerful writing and pointed advocacy—much of with which I disagree—thankfully undiminished by his fight with esophageal cancer.  Indeed, the last time I wrote about Hitchens, I quoted him as wishing for the . . . . Continue Reading »

Ah, the word games Obamacarians do play.  Latest in a series of obfuscations; attempting to depict the penalty for not buying health insurance under the individual mandate as a “tax penalty.”Obamacarians employ that term because they are trying to turn a civil penalty—in . . . . Continue Reading »

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill banning minors from using tanning beds.  From the Reuters story:Previously, California had banned minors under the age of 14 from using tanning beds, but allowed those between 14 and 18 years of age to use tanning beds with parental consent. . . . . Continue Reading »

I am of the belief that the drive for instant “Green!” has hurt the economy by inhibiting the development of resources, placing onerous regulatory burdens on business, increasing the price of energy—you know, the kinds of things that stifle growth, cause uncertainty, and generally . . . . Continue Reading »

(Sorry about the format. I couldn’t fix it. You will have to scroll down to see the poll answers from which to pick. If you want to pick first result, its circle is at the top, even though the text is below.)On October 13, 2013, Obamacare Will Most . . . . Continue Reading »