Night of the Long Pipettes

Via reader Jeff Smith comes the news that Bush has changed the lineup on his Council on Bioethics. Unsurprisingly, he's gotten rid of one of the strongest supporters of therapeutic cloning.

From the Reuters version of the story:

President Bush reshuffled his advisory council on cloning and related medical issues on Friday, adding a prominent neurosurgeon known for his work on conjoined twins and two conservatives who have spoken out strongly against cloning.

He replaced one of the most prominent scientists on his Council on Bioethics, cell biology expert Elizabeth Blackburn of the University of California San Francisco. The Australian- born Blackburn has spoken in favor of so-called therapeutic cloning in which cloning technology is used for medical and biological research.

Whole thing here.

Read Reason Science Correspondent Ronald Bailey's take on the original lineup here.

Comments

[Rick Barton]

But supporters of therapeutic cloning said they were stunned by the move and said it showed the White House was not interested in hearing neutral scientific advice.

This could be a terrible tragedy in the making if the government gets in the way of medical progress!

Cloning shows promise against:

Parkinson's disease
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/09/030922063529.htm

Birth defects
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/12/031208141342.htm

Brain damage
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/01/990126082134.htm

Aging itself
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/02/040227073500.htm

Contact congress and tell them that this is way too important for them to get in the way! Please.

http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/

[Gadfly]

Interestingly, Harvard U is now setting up its own stem cell research center. It's got $100 million to work with to start and won't be bound by the Fed's restrictions.

Free markets, free minds.

[Brian]

I believe the $100 million is the Harvard center's fundraising goal. They don't have it just yet.

But a privately-funded venture on that scale is definitely a good thing...

[R C Dean]

Brian, considering that Harvard's endowment is nearly $20 billion with a "B", I suspect Harvard could write a check for the $100 million. Wouldn't be a bad way to burn off excess earnings in its portfolio, actually. Its catching some flak now for paying that much to its managers last year, after all.

Still, no harm in passing the hat, I suppose.