Wesley J. Smith

This PR press release contains two stories instead of one: First, researchers at UCLA apparently morphed embryonic stem cells into neural stem cells, and then, into working neurons. This is only the second time of which I am aware that ES cells were made primarily into the kind of cells that . . . . Continue Reading »

I am honored to call Tony Snow friend. We began our relationship several years ago when he called one day to speak about bioethical issues. Our friendship warmed when I appeared on his syndicated radio program, and has continued, his time permitting, after his appointment as the Press Secretary to . . . . Continue Reading »

Human cloning is very hard to do, apparently. Indeed, despite the race to win a Nobel Prize by creating the first embryonic stem cells from cloned embryos, I only know of one experiment that seems to have resulted in the creation of cloned human embryos that reached the one week stage—and even . . . . Continue Reading »

The terrible story of the physician indicted for allegedly attempting to hasten the death of a disabled dying patient named Ruben Navarro in order to be able to harvest his organs—about which I first wrote a few days ago— is being fleshed out by the local media. As I suspected, the case . . . . Continue Reading »

I have a piece in today’s Rocky Mountain News about the Vick case, entitled, “Vick Charges Speak to Our Humanity.” It is pretty succinct. Here is an excerpt:People are outraged at this scandal, and rightly so. But few are asking why, exactly, we are so upset. For example, do we . . . . Continue Reading »

Neil Munro is a wonderful journalist for the National Journal—one of the most prestigious public policy journals in the world. He covers biotechnology like no other and has a story out “Two Roads on Stem-Cell Policy” (no link available) about the tremendous successes that appear to . . . . Continue Reading »

The final verdict is in, and Wu-suk Hwang definitely did not clone human embryos. What he appears to have done is create stem cell lines from parthenogenesis in which eggs are stimulated to divide to the point that stem cells were obtainable. (Parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction that . . . . Continue Reading »

I heard today from Professor McLaclan, whose support for reproductive cloning I criticized here at SHS. Rather than put his comment to me in the comments section to the original post, where it might be missed, in fairness, I thought it best to present it here. Professor McLachlan writes:Dear Wesley . . . . Continue Reading »

This story demonstrates, yet again, that people who are diagnosed as profoundly cognitively impaired may merely be unable to communicate. A man described as being in a minimally conscious state has regained the ability to talk and eat after his brain was stimulated with electrodes. From the story:A . . . . Continue Reading »

Experiments on zebra fish have produced a promising adult stem cell technique that could restore vision to the sightless. From the story:British researchers said on Wednesday they had successfully grown in the laboratory a type of adult stem cell found in the eyes of both fish and mammals that . . . . Continue Reading »