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 »
This one will stir up a hornet’s nest . . . . The words “global warming” may have achieved Pavlovian status. Like the ringing of the bell that accompanied the Alpo fed to Pavlov’s dogs, the words foster an immediate and instinctive response by adherents of our . . . . Continue Reading »
We have a lot of problems, but I was mildly surprised that health care only scored in at 60 percentile as a matter of high concern to the American people in a Pew Poll, with Medicare at 59%—a sharp decline from previous samples. And this was a surprise: Health insurance was at 52%. From the . . . . Continue Reading »
Readers of SHS have heard of the tragic case in Italy of Eluana Englaro, diagnosed for 17 years to be in a persistent vegetative state. Her father won the right in Italian court to remove her feeding tube, but has been unable, so far, to find a medical facility willing to dehydrate Eluana to death. . . . . Continue Reading »
SHS’s good friend, attorney Jerri Ward, is gearing up to fight a case in Texas that is eerily reminiscent of the Haleigh Poutre case. An attorney ad litem for a terribly abused baby named David Coronado Jr., wanted to stop all treatment because the baby is expected to remain profoundly . . . . Continue Reading »
In the UK, an adult stem cell trial using cadaver cells will begin seeking to cure blindness. From the story:[[A] two-year trial involving 20 patients with corneal blindness will begin this month at the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh and the Gartnavel General Hospital in Glasgow. The . . . . Continue Reading »
Mr. Deneen’s take (post just before this one) on the Inaugural is the most penetrating I’ve seen, or expect to see. The collusion between Kantianism and Machiavellianism is a very important insight, and in fact one that Harvey Mansfield has always seen very clearly (as in his “Moral Reasoning . . . . Continue Reading »