• ”Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt”

Posted January 19, 2012

”Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt”
- Mark Twain

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit announced that it will hear oral arguments in April, in the case of Sherley et. al. v. Sebelius.  This was the case, originally filed in 2009, by two adult stem cell scientists who tried to stop the Federal Government from funding any embryonic stem cell research.  Their argument was based upon a broad reading of the 1996 Dickey-Wicker Amendment that, they claimed, banned the use of any federal funds for such research.  Ultimately, the District Court (lower court) ruled that Dickey-Wicker did not ban the funding; the plaintiffs appealed, and this spring that appeal will be heard.

• “Book ‘em Danno”

Posted January 4, 2012

"Book 'em Danno"
- Hawaii Five O

Those of you familiar with this blog know that I have recommended ALS Worldwide (www.alsworldwide.org) and my friend Stephen Byer, as a resource for ALS patients and their families. One of the many services Stephen and his organization have provided is the exposure of fraudulent stem cell clinics and providers that prey on families who are already devastated by the ALS diagnosis. The most public of these resulted in a sting that became an Emmy winning "60 Minutes" episode entitled “21st Century Snake Oil Salesmen.”

• “Science gives us no answer to the question, how shall we live?”

Posted: December 19th, 2011

“Science gives us no answer to the question, how shall we live?”
- Leo Tolstoy 1898

In a rather stunning piece of news recently, the Secretary of Health and Human Services overruled the FDA to keep (what opponents would call) an abortion pill from becoming available over the counter without a prescription to some women under the age of 18; euphemistically called “Plan B.”  The Secretary, as delegated by the President, has always had the authority to overrule the FDA, which also only exists as an arm of the Executive branch.  But apparently in the entire history of the agency this has never happened.  This has brought the “science vs. politics” debate into the public conscience again.  Commentators see it as either an isolated incident in an area where there was “soft science” or as a catastrophic incursion of politics into the appropriate realm of science.  As a Company developing neural stem cell technology, we are all too familiar with the overlapping of politics and science.

• The die is cast
  

Posted:  November 15th, 2011

"The die is cast"

- Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

In what appeared to be an “out of the blue” release after the markets closed yesterday, Geron announced that it was ceasing all stem cell operations.  If you are reading this, you already know that Geron was the largest player in the stem cell world; owners basically of all Embryonic Stem Cell technology.  They had one ongoing trial in the U.S., for acute spinal cord injury.  I believe they may have transplanted 4 patients since the trial began (close to 2 years ago).  That trial has been stopped.  Additionally, I read that they have already given back the CIRM money (to California) and it is assumed that all those research programs are also closed down.  Geron is going to become an oncology company according to their release.

• There’s a time for us... A place and time for us…

Posted:  October 20th, 2011

“There’s a time for us

A place and time for us…”

- Death scene, West Side story

They knew, they were sure, and yet the star crossed lovers in Leonard Bernstein’s touching retelling of Shakespeare’s tragic love story  know  that their time is not now.

I was reminded of this scene last week at a spectacular fund raising event for ALS in Atlanta.  The Night of Hope event was actually sponsored by the Muscular Dystrophy Association.   One of our trial patients received an award for his hard work and support of ALS research.  In his acceptance speech, he revealed that he was patient #12 in our trial.