Wesley J. Smith

Dusty should be careful of what he asks for. I went off Atkins precisely because I felt as if meat was coming out of my ears. . . . . Continue Reading »

The FDA has determined that meat and milk from cloned animals are safe to consume. But some people would rather not consume cloned products, thank you very much. A proper answer to such consumer desires is labeling: Meat, milk, cheese etc. can be labeled clone free. From the story: Although the FDA . . . . Continue Reading »

There is a brutally honest essay in the New York Times Magazine about the dismaying number of young girls in Indonesia whose parents force them to undergo the genital mutilation that goes by the euphemistic term, “female circumcision.” It is an awful story of the worst kind of misogyny, . . . . Continue Reading »

Oh, cry my a river: Craig Barnett, chairman of Intel, boo-hoos about the supposed lack of science funding by the Feds in a whining column in today’s San Francisco Chronicle. He writes:The recent budget deal between Republicans and Democrats effectively flat-funds or cuts funding for key . . . . Continue Reading »

There is an alarming story in today’s San Francisco Chronicle, byline Sabin Russell, that illustrates how life evolves to ensure that no matter how far we advance scientifically, death will always remain part of the experience of living. A terrible antibiotic-resistant strain of staph bacteria . . . . Continue Reading »

I reported on this story previously from a different angle, e.g. the need for using animals in basic medical research. But this picture is so amazing, that I thought the breakthrough was worth revisiting to discuss the biotechnological implications.To recap: scientists created a new beating heart . . . . Continue Reading »

Mmm-mmm, . . . . Continue Reading »

The attempt by animal rights activists to grant animals the right to sue in their own names has been rejected in Texas. From the story:A Texas appeals court has affirmed a lower court decision that nine chimpanzees and monkeys that were brought to the Primarily Primates sanctuary in 2006 don’t . . . . Continue Reading »

If this allegation is true, it is beyond the pale: A mentally ill paraplegic man is suing a hospital for discharging him and dumping him in his hospital gown on a grate in skid row. From the story: Gabino Olvera, 42, sued the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center for negligence after it discharged . . . . Continue Reading »

Readers of SHS will remember the controversial case of Ashley, the profoundly disabled girl whose uterus and breast buds were removed, and who was given hormones to keep her from growing to normal size. Ashley’s parents became proselytizers of sorts, for “Ashley’s treatment,” . . . . Continue Reading »