Stem Cells

On Monday, President Barack Obama  lifted a nearly 8-year ban on the use of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research. The ban was enacted by former president George W. Bush, limiting researchers to a small number of stem cell lines created prior to August, 2001.

The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first drug to be biologically produced from genetically modified livestock. The drug antithrombin, a protein which helps prevent blood clotting, will be produced by goats that have been genetically modified with the human version of the gene.

Cleverly, researchers spliced the gene in a specific part of the goat genome so that the goats would only produce the protein in their milk. It's relatively straightforward to isolate the protein drug from other milk proteins and package it for market.

Last week the Catholic Church's solidified its official position against the use of assisted reproductive technologies with the release of a new position paper, Dignitas Personae -– Latin for "the dignity of a person." It had been more than two decades since the Vatican had weighed in on issues like in vitro fertilization, embryo freezing, and embryo genetic testing. These technologies have grown significantly in use over the last 20 years.

In 2004, California voters passed Proposition 71, which provided $3 billion in taxpayer-funded research support for stem cell research. The money is to be spent at a rate of $300 million per year for 10 years.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that CNN's seven-person science and technology reporting group, led by anchor Miles O'Brien, has been shut down. The move is reportedly editorial, not economic. A CNN spokesperson says that science and technology reporting will be now be moved into Anderson Cooper 360's "Planet in Peril" series.

Click on the link below to view the winning entries for Nikon's "Small World" photography contest. This contest is "...the leading forum for showcasing the beauty and complexity of life as seen through the light microscope." Scientists from all over the world submit their entries for this prestigious award.

Give the Nikon site a look. Many of the pictures are quite stunning - true works of art!