Should the U.S. government support the creation of new lines of embryonic stem cells? by Ann A Kiessling, PhD The answer to that question is not simple. The rancorous US debate about embryonic stem cells bespeaks a healthy society with genuine concern about each and every member, the tiniest and the sickest. Everyone, on both…
Read More›Harvard Magazine The Moral Status of the Embryo Is a blastocyst—an early-stage human embryo—a person? As part of the University’s efforts to encourage public dialogue about stem-cell research, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI), in conjunction with Harvard Divinity School (HDS) and the Boston Theological Institute, sponsored a March 14 forum, “Religious Perspectives on Stem-Cell…
Read More›Jeffrey E. Horvitz STEM CELL WARS THE CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL BASES WARS OF RELIGION Why has stem cell research been singled out of many stunning advances in this, the Golden Age of biology and medicine? Why is there such a tempest in a Petri dish? The stem cell fight is a footnote to what looks…
Read More›Connecticut History was made in Connecticut this week. Nearly three dozen stem cell scientists were awarded public funds to conduct embryonic stem cell research. This puts Connecticut in a leadership position in stem cell research in the U.S. In 2005, Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell and the Connecticut Legislature committed 100 million dollars to embryonic stem…
Read More›Los Angeles Times – By Lee Romney, Times Staff Writer SAN FRANCISCO — Should a woman be allowed to sell her eggs? The question had never triggered much debate in the private world of fertility medicine, where Ivy League women can earn tens of thousands of dollars per “donation.” But it seems everything about stem…
Read More›Somerville Journal – By David L. Harris/ Journal Staff With the encouragement of a little-known stem cell research lab, Somerville’s going all-out in its bid to attract more cutting edge biotech companies. “The mayor said, ’What, you’re kidding?” said Ann A. Kiessling, the director of Davis Square-based Bedford Stem Cell Research Foundation, when she recently…
Read More›From WBUR Morning Edition “Egg Donor”, by Allan Coukell – Jan 31, 2006 Boston – January 31, 2006 – When the recent scandal over fraudulent stem cell research in South Korean unfolded, the first allegation was that women had been illegally coerced and had been paid for donating their eggs to research. The South Korean…
Newsweek, By Claudia Kalb Kim Barnett would do anything to help her dad. Already, she’s changed careers. That move came after Barnett noticed her father, who has Parkinson’s, drooling on an airplane in 2001. The disease had hijacked his instinct to swallow—and it devastated Barnett, who worried that outsiders would notice only the symptom, not…
Read More›This landmark letter was signed by 126 stem cell scientists at the International Society for Stem Cell Research meeting in San Francisco. (Download PDF) Dear Senator Hatch, We are a group of U.S. and international scientists who thank you for your leadership in supporting stem cell research. Stem Cell therapy holds the promise of cures…
Read More›From WBUR, by Martha Bebinger – March 31, 2005 In the debate about stem cell legislation, there’s been little discussion about the potential new demand for human eggs, and the impact on the women who donate those eggs. Some women’s health advocates are calling for limits, arguing that the safety of producing multiple eggs can’t…