This is your science lesson for the day:
The Miami Herald reports that GOP lawmakers attended a private lecture by a Utah professor on stem cell research:
As many as 25 House Republicans gathered at the University Club at Florida State University on Monday night to hear a lecture by Maureen Condic, a neurobiologist and professor at the University of Utah School of Medicine. The dinner and Condic’s expenses were paid by the Republican Party of Florida.
The lecture comes at the same time that legislators are considering two bills to set aside $20 million for stem-cell research. The main difference between the measures: the version backed by Democrats authorizes spending money on embryonic stem-cell research, which results in the destruction of human embryos, while the GOP version does not.
Republican leaders said the meeting — which was first disclosed by the Palm Beach Post — did not violate any public meetings laws.
Read the article: Utah expert lectures GOP lawmakers
Maureen Condic is an outspoken critic of embryonic stem cell research. She instead believes adult stem cell research is better. From here article – “The Basics About Stem Cells”
The field of stem cell research holds out considerable promise for the treatment of disease and injury, but this promise is not unlimited. There are real, possibly insurmountable, scientific challenges to the use of embryonic stem cells as a medical treatment for disease and injury. In contrast, adult stem cell research holds out nearly equal promise while circumventing the enormous social, ethical, and political issues raised by the use of human embryos for research. There is clearly much work that needs to be done before stem cells of any age can be used as a medical treatment. It seems only practical to put our resources into the approach that is most likely to be successful in the long run. In light of the serious problems associated with embryonic stem cells and the relatively unfettered promise of adult stem cells, there is no compelling scientific argument for the public support of research on human embryos.
Read the article: The Basics About Stem Cells