Edgar Allan Poe’s bicentennial birthday passed unremarked by this publication January 19. For the most part I considered Poe useful mainly as a horrible example of how not to write. Every so often, though, something characteristic took shape in his odd imagination. One of his lesser-known . . . . Continue Reading »
An op/ed in today’s Baltimore Sun has two doctors insisting that physicians refer patients for abortions if they don’t wish to do the deed themselves. (The term used is reproductive health, and so it isn’t only abortion to which they refer—but it is part of what is meant by . . . . Continue Reading »
I only bring this up because it provides a vivid example of how so much of the West has become, in the old Gilbert and Sullivan phrase, topsy-turvy. The Dutch Government is bringing a parliamentarian named Geert Wilders up on charges of hate speech for making incendiary statements about . . . . Continue Reading »
That is an interesting article , Amanda . Note the final sentence: “In addition to safety, researchers will look for signs that the treatment is effective.” It’s always good to have a medical treatment that not only fails to kill a patient, but actually helps cure the ailment. . . . . Continue Reading »
“The Pharisees followed the letter of the law, and thought themselves justified. We ignore it, and still think so.” —Anthony Esolen, Magnificat , January 2009 . . . . Continue Reading »
As some readers will remember, our October 2008 issue contained a posthumous poem by Thomas Disch (along with a poem in memory of Disch by David Mason). If you want to learn more about the work of this brilliant novelist, essayist, and poet, read this piece by science fiction writer John Crowley, . . . . Continue Reading »
So it turns out that that Itzhak Perlman, Gabriela Montero, and Yo-Yo Ma were faking it at their Inaugural performance , playing along with a pre-recorded soundtrack instead of toughing it out in the cold. Yo-Yo Ma as the new Milli Vanilli. In the future, everyone will be lip-sync’ed for 15 . . . . Continue Reading »
Well after years of saying it was coming, finally Geron got permission to attempt a human trial of its ESC-derived drug for acute spinal cord injury. (This is not a direct infusion of stem cells, but of a type of adult neural stem cell created by differentiating the ES cells.) This is not an . . . . Continue Reading »
I got back late last night from the March for Life in Washington. It was my first time at the march, and I’m extremely glad I went. The crowds were huge and relatively upbeat, considering the new battles the movement is facing. I can think of no other protest that gathers such a diverse crowd . . . . Continue Reading »
The news is being triumphantly proclaimed, under banners of scientific liberation and medical messianism: The FDA yesterday approved the first trial of embryonic stem-cell treatment. It is a “research milestone,” says the New York Times , a “watershed moment,” adds the Wall . . . . Continue Reading »
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