Stem Cell Breakthrough

Earlier today two teams of scientists announced that they had

resolved an ethical dilemma that had threatened the use of

stem cells to solve a host of medical conditions.





Published in Cell and Science, two of the most prestigious

journals in the world, the scientists reported that they had

been able to change common skin cells into embryonic stem

cells by adding four genes, thus avoiding the ethical dilemma

of having to destroy human embryos to harvest the stem cells.


Immediate reaction has been uniformly positive across the

political spectrum. "Everyone was waiting for this day to

come" was the reaction of Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk of the

National Catholic Bioethics Center, courtesy of the

Associated Press from The New York Times. "It really is

amazing," and "ethically uncomplicated" were the reactions

of two leading medical authorities at Harvard, according to

AP and NYT.


So, on this eve of Thanksgiving Eve, let us give thanks. This is

Public Occurrences.