Stem Cell Research Slowed Because of Misinformed Politics

I heard this show again on Krista Tippett's On Being, which used to be called Speaking of Faith. This is a repost on that show. It clears up a lot of misperceptions on stem cell research:

Stress kills stem cells, which are needed for life.
Every tissue in our body has stem cells in it. Aging is the process of losing stem cells, according to Doris Taylor, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Repair at the University of Minnesota.
As we age, the number of stem cells decrease and their function decreases. When cancer patients get bone marrow transplants, they're not getting just new blood, as scientists used to think, they're getting stem cells, which are regenerative.
Taylor talks to Krista Tippett of Speaking of Faith about cutting-edge research on stem cells and their awesomeness, how they can save people's lives, even reverse aging.
And no, stem cells don't come from aborted fetuses. They come from donated fertilized (usually called embryonic) eggs that were going to be thrown away.
Stem cells have gotten a bad rap and research has been slowed, thanks to misinformed and politically motivated conservatives.
Taylor addresses the religious, moral and ethical concerns of stem cell research.

Obama's stem cell research speech last year marked the return of science to the White House.

SoundSeen: Surprising Beauty, Holding A Pig's Heart from Speaking of Faith on Vimeo

Justice to Appeal Stem Cell Ruling

To get a great understanding of what's going on, listen to the Aug. 26 podcast of the Political Scene.

The debate.

Officials said experiments already under way could continue. But if the ruling is upheld, the government will be forced to suspend $54 million in financing for 22 scientific projects by the end of September. An additional 60 projects are threatened, and the institutes were busy Tuesday e-mailing researchers to tell them their money was in jeopardy.

“This decision has the potential to do serious damage to one of the most promising areas of biomedical research, just at the time when we were really gaining momentum,” said Dr. Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health. The ruling, he added, “just pours sand into that engine of discovery.”
....
As opponents of the research hailed the ruling, the White House warned that if upheld, it could roll back not only the Obama rules, but also the more restrictive ones issued by his predecessor. Beyond human embryonic stem cell studies, research on vaccines, viruses and lung disease could also be affected, experts said, because cells commonly used in such research were derived from either aborted fetuses or destroyed embryos. More at NYT

Stress and Cheeseburgers Kill Stem Cells and You

Stress kills stem cells, which are needed for life.
Every tissue in our body has stem cells in it. Aging is the process of losing stem cells, according to Doris Taylor, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Repair at the University of Minnesota.
As we age, the number of stem cells decrease and their function decreases. When cancer patients get bone marrow transplants, they're not getting just new blood, as scientists used to think, they're getting stem cells, which are regenerative.
Taylor talks to Krista Tippett of Speaking of Faith about cutting-edge research on stem cells and their awesomeness, how they can save people's lives, even reverse aging.
And no, stem cells don't come from aborted fetuses. They come from donated fertilized (usually called embryonic) eggs that were going to be thrown away.
Stem cells have gotten a bad rap and research has been slowed, thanks to conservatives.
Taylor addresses the religious, moral and ethical concerns of stem cell research.
Obama's March stem cell research speech marked the return of science to the White House.

Holding a pigs heart:

SoundSeen: Surprising Beauty, Holding A Pig's Heart from Speaking of Faith on Vimeo.

The Difference Between McCain and Bush

John McCain has been loyal to bush, more than the GOP, according to an NPR report this morning. NPR did a nice analysis identifying the differences between Bush and McCain.

There are three:
McCain supports stem cell research funding, McCain believes global warming is real and here's a small one, McCain's tax cuts are deeper than Bush's and a "radical" departure on where McCain used to stand on tax cuts.

NPR played a "Meet the Press" clip in which McCain said that the tax cuts were unfair because they favored the rich. He opposed George Bush. Now he supports the tax cuts for the wealthy and he wants to give them more.

If you support McCain, you would say he evolved and got smarter on tax cuts. If you don't like McCain, you could call him a flip flopper. If you're in the middle class, you'd say he's an idiot.

Obama isn't asking for a tax hike-- on the middle class (under $200K). He supports a redistribution. In simple words, take the decrease in taxes that the wealthy have had under Bush and give them to the the middle class. So effectively, it will be a tax increase for the rich. But the rest of us should know that it's a tax decrease for us.

So, as you see, McCain really is a Bush.
Here you can see a side by side comparison of Obama and McCain's tax policy. 
McCain’s Tax Cuts Fact Check
Obama's Redistribution of Taxes

The Difference between Obama and McCain: 

Obama supports women's right to choose. McCain does not -- his website says he wants to overturn Roe V. Wade. 

McCain supports offshore drilling, gas tax holiday, Obama does not. 

Obama supports tax breaks to the middle class. McCain supports tax breaks to the wealthy (the theory is the money will trickle down. This is a basic difference between dems and reps). 

Obama has a more diplomatic approach to foreign policy. McCain is a militarist. 

Obama believes in free trade -- but with reciprocity, making sure it's a good deal for the U.S.

McCain is traditional on free trade. For those who lose jobs to free trade, he wants to overhaul the unemployment insurance system and use it for retraining. 

Obama supports a transparent, modern government (everything on the Internet). McCain hasn't talked about this and doesn't use the Internet (he said he's learning). 

Obama wants to start a green jobs program, like Kennedy's Apollo program, to free the country of foreign oil in the next 10 years. McCain will probably be starting another war. 

Obama believes in funding education -- he wants to pay teachers more and fund No Child Left Behind.

I don't think McCain has talked about education other than saying he supports vouchers.
Obama wants to create new jobs through rebuilding America's infrastructure--bridges and roads-- and developing alternative energies.
McCain doesn't have a plan for jobs, other than giving tax cuts and breaks to the rich and corporations. Economics is not his expertise (he said so himself).
Obama wants a healthcare program that insures everyone who needs it gets it at an affordable rate. If you already have insurance and you're happy, it wouldn't change.
McCain wants to give families a $5,000 credit for health care.
Obama is known for his cool head. No drama Obama.
McCain is known for making rash decisions and flying off the handle.
Obama is the better leader. He inspires people to take action. Just look at his ground campaign.
McCain is a lead by brute force kind of guy.
Perhaps the biggest difference between Obama and McCain is McCain still thinks of international relations with an old mind.
Obama understands that the U.S. has to build alliances and partnerships to fend off terrorism and other threats.
Here's another fundamental difference: republicans don't believe in government in the first place, even though they've abused it for sure.
Democrats believe government can be helpful.