Wesley Smith has Lots of Nerve

Wesley Smith has made a serious bid for the 2004 chutzpah award. in a new column he complains that proponents of embryonic stem cell research using cloned embryos are playing word games in how they describe cloned embryos. This coming in the context of a year's worth of conniving on the part of proponents of a ban on cloning for research to say they are not opposed to 'stem' cell research when what they mean is adult stem cell research and intentionally confusing reproductive cloning with cloning for research. Wesley--stones, glass houses, c'mon now! - Art Caplan

The Hypo-Allergenic Cat

From Allerca: A cat that just does not make you sneeze. But is it just hype?

It is probably possible to create cats that do not produce the most common protein allergen, says Thomas Platts-Mills, director of the Asthma and Allergic Disease Center at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, US. But he adds that cats produce many more allergens, and that blocking production of the protein could damage the cat's health. Moreover, Allerca's claims that a technique called RNA-induced gene silencing can work in cats are "unfounded", says Greg Hannon at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York state, and author of the book RNAi: A Guide to Gene Silencing. So far the technique has been used only in mice.

Please, Someone, Teach These Journalists?

In the fiftieth poorly-researched assisted reproductive technology piece of the year, New Scientist lets us all in on the big news of the week: the Brits have "applied for a license" for something that is "banned" - yes banned - in the U.S., supposedly: "creating children with three parents." You have to be curious as to whether they just make these little snippets up...three person reproduction isn't banned in any national or even in any state law. The truly interesting thing is that New Scientist was able to miss any of the facts about the multiple egg issues in either the literature or even among those who work on these questions all the time. So get ready for a spate of "three moms" pieces!

Did the FDA Work Against Revealing Vioxx Findings?

Washington Post quotes an FDA official, David Graham, who indicates that in fact he was told to "water down" the report on the hazards of Vioxx.