Denied Tenure, African-American MIT Stem Cell Researcher Starts a Hunger Strike

Boston Globe reports on the highly unusual strategy of Professor James Sherley, one of only 28 black faculty at MIT at the time of his tenure decision, whose denial of tenure seems irreversible. He opposes (quite prominently) embryonic stem cell research.

Alternative Sources of Stem Cells? How About the Garage Refrigerator!

Greg Dahlman pointed me to perhaps the weirdest take on how to isolate your own human amniotic epithelial cells from the placenta - at home (mmmmm. Will there be placenta left for lunch?) Here are the instructions. The creator of the method wrote in to give us a link to an even better page. Knock yourself out.

Berger & Moreno Go to Town Over the Alternative Stem Cell Report

At the Center for American Progress, Sam Berger and Jon Moreno picked a fight with whomever would listen concerning the idiotic White House report on alternative sources of stem cells. Well, listening was New Republic National Review Senior Analyst Ramesh Ponnuru, and you can watch what Berger and Moreno do to his analysis of their piece on the CAP site linked above. No point quoting it, I'm just not capable of typing even one more time either the work by or the critique of the New Republic/Weekly Standard on stem cells.

I'd say that someone should kick these guys and let them know that the voters already decided, and continue to decide, state by state by state ... and that nobody wants to destroy embryos, whether they are little people or not, and that the activity of doing so will likely fade away if only the basic science can get accomplished, and preferably through a decent funding mechanism so that the entire embryo isn't owned by companies as a result of the rush of venture capital into the funding and regulatory vacuum.

But I won't say that, because inside-the-beltway fights about stem cell funding are about as invisible out here in the fields as the annual Wonkette debate over which congressional aides are most attractive, and certainly just as futile. Only in Washington can so much debate ensue over a bill that can't survive a veto and that wouldn't really compete with California's budget even if it did.

Mel Gibson, Stem Cell Advocate

By popular demand - ten people have asked us for this link - here's the link to Mel Gibson the adult stem cell True Believer, in his Good Morning America appearance that drew so much attention before the election. [RealVideo]

What Happens When Your State Allocates $3 Billion for Stem Cell Research

Answer? Everyone wants to do stem cell research. Berkeley, though, is at a disadvantage, and it is interesting to watch as they deliberate about how to make up for the lack of a medical school.

Wired News: Clone Ban Unlikely to Pass Senate

The change in administration makes stem cell proponents very nervous. Will a more republican Senate mean that the therapeutic cloning ban will finally pass, effectvely killing any chance for a stem cell biotech industry i nthe United States? Not according to Wired magazine, who report that, even with the change in administraion, a cloning ban is unlikely to pass even our new, more republican Senate. If Wired is right, the hopes for stem cell research in the US remain alive, and have been given a big boost by the passing of the $3 billion California stem cell initiative.

I'm not Fat, I Just Have an Overabundance of Stem Cells

The search for a source of versatile stem cells may have landed on your belly bulge. It turns out that the best source of adult stem cells may be in our fat deposits, which would be great news. It is far easier to get fat -- which people are happy to donate -- than bone marrow or other sources of cells. Also, if we get to the point where we can use our own adult stem cells to create tissues for ourselves when we need them, almost all of use have enough fat cells to donate. While fat stem cells are not a replacement for embryonic stem cells -- which are more versatile, live forever, and can be engineered for experimentation with a host of diseases -- it is an exciting development to know we have a virtually inexhaustible supply of adult stem cells in such an easily accessed, dispensable tissue.

UPDATED: ES Cells Save Embryos

onwisconsin.com and Washington Post are running pieces on Memorial Sloan-Kettering's work aimed at saving mouse embryos who were destined to die, using mouse embryonic stem cells. Robert Schatz of Scripps in La Jolla describes the procedure as "the birth of a new science." The knockout mice had extraordinary cardiac defects, and the stem cells did not change the DNA that had caused those defects. "Instead, [the stem cells] influenced the young mice's ability to express certain genes." Benezra: "stem cells act like nurses, restoring 'sick' [embryonic] cells to health." The human implications are already in trials using adult stem cells. This is huge news, and it will be interesting to see how quickly it makes its way into the mainstream media. The ethical issues are going to be no fun at all for those who oppose hES research. AND UPDATE: Here's the first piece on the ethics of the matter: Medical News of Today.