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Thursday, July 13, 2006
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AlterNet: "... it looks like [U.S Senator Bill] Frist, who supports limited stem cell research, knew the deck was stacked against him on the issue, as both Durbin and Reid promised to loudly invoke H.R. 810 every single day in July or until it was formally placed on the Senate calendar.
"'I believe the President's policy should be modified. Which is why, with reservation, I support the house-passed embryonic stem cell research bill, H.R.810,' said Frist before the holiday recess. 'Let me be clear, this bill has deficiencies. If circumstances were different I would seek to ensure a much stronger ethical and scientific oversight mechanism, a clear prohibition on financial or other incentives between scientists and fertility clinics, and more explicit requirements regarding informed consent.'"
Thanks to Wired for the link.
"2008 pres"
7:00:55 PM 
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Edward Felten has penned an explanation of the technical background behind Internet Neutrality (pdf). He writes, "Network neutrality is a vexing issue. Proponents of neutrality regulation argue that the free, innovative Internet of today is threatened and government action is needed to protect it. Opponents argue that regulation is not needed, or will be flawed in practice, or is a bad idea even in principle.
"One of the reasons the network neutrality debate is so murky is that relatively few
people understand the mechanics of network discrimination. In reasoning about net
neutrality it helps to understand the technical motivations for discrimination, the various
kinds of discrimination and how they would actually be put into practice, and what
countermeasures would then be available to users and regulators. These are what I want
to explain in this essay.
"It's not my goal to answer every question about net neutrality-that would require a
book, not an essay. What I want to do is fill in some of the technical background in a
way that illuminates the core issues, in the hope of providing a little clarity to the
discussion."
"2008 pres"
6:56:53 PM
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Science Blog: "Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have isolated a new source of adult stem cells that appear to have the potential to differentiate into several cell types. If their approach to growing these cells can be scaled up and proves to be safe and effective in animal and human studies, it could one day provide the tissue needed by an individual for treating a host of disorders, including peripheral nerve disease, Parkinson's disease, and spinal cord injury...
"Hair follicles are well known to be a source for adult stem cells. Using human embryonic stem cell culture conditions, the researchers isolated and grew a new type of multipotent adult stem cell from scalp tissue obtained from the National Institute of Health's Cooperative Human Tissue Network.
"The mutipotent stem cells grow as masses the investigators call hair spheres. After growing the 'raw' cells from the hair spheres in different types of growth factors, the investigators were able to differentiate the stem cells into multiple lineages, including nerve cells, smooth muscle cells, and melanocytes (skin pigment cells)."
"2008 pres"
6:46:34 PM
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Rocky Mountain News: "As he listened last week to state and federal lawmakers debate what to do about illegal immigration, Tom Narum wasn't alone in his frustration. But Narum has his own plan to solve the problem: bypass the politicians and go straight to the people. The 39-year-old financial analyst and father of three - a self-described 'average guy' from Centennial - wants to build a wall along the southern U.S. border. He has enlisted a few friends and relatives to help him start a Web-based campaign to raise the funds. Now all Narum needs is the estimated cost of $9.5 billion - yes, that's billion with a 'B' - and the permission of perhaps thousands of landowners. 'Actually,' Narum corrects, 'my goal is to raise four or five hundred million dollars, build about a hundred miles of the wall, and then, hopefully, when they see how it works, Congress will take over.'"
"2008 pres"
6:43:37 PM
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Science Blog: "A new UCLA imaging study finds political party allegiance affects the brain activity of partisans viewing the faces of candidates.
"Published online July 9, 2006, by the peer-reviewed journal Neuropsychologia, the study finds a partisan's brain responds to the opposition candidate's face by activating cognitive networks designed to regulate emotion.
"Researchers at the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA suggest the neural activity has one of three goals: 1) suppression of unpleasant emotions; 2) suppression of latent positive feelings toward an opposing candidate; or 3) an increase in negative feelings toward an opposing candidate.
'We still have much to learn about the neural basis of political decision making; however, these findings show party allegiance has a clear impact on brain activity,' said lead author Marco Iacoboni, associate professor in residence at the Semel Institute, the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA Brain Research Institute."
No word whether or not this explains the current echo chamber phenomena.
"denver 2006"
6:29:58 PM
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Political Wire: "Six 'political veterans' signed on to Sen. Christopher Dodd's (D-CT) possible presidential bid today, 'as the Connecticut Democrat began to expand his efforts to raise money and develop a network of supporters in key states,' David Lightman reports."
"2008 pres"
5:49:56 PM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/15/09; 11:44:25 AM.
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