September 22nd, 2004
Yet More Stem Cell Straight Talk
A Tech Central Station piece offers some pearls of wisdom: "Far better, surely, for the critics of [embryonic stem cell research] research simply to say forthrightly, 'I oppose this for religious and moral reasons' -- which is clearly their right -- and to forgo the quasi-scientific rationalizations. ... We should 'simultaneously pursue all lines of research to determine the very best sources of these cells.' In other words, instead of arguing about which type is better on the basis of insufficient data, we should pursue research using both, an approach that we find sensible. Competition in medical research, as in commerce, is constructive." Still, the authors fail to identify the damage done by attempts to ban therapeutic cloning.