Virtual Quill

Science took another hit from the tide of religious conservatives this week, as President "Butterfly Ballot" vetoed the stem cell research bill passed by his own party. (I know this is usually a politics-free blog, but I'm not exactly a disinterested spectator on this matter.)

I've been IMing the rest of Professor Antlerhead's research team, and for now we'll just make do with the status quo: those of us on the stem cell project have to be completely segregated from the other federally-funded projects. As I've said here before, that can be a major logistical hassle. (When I eat a bug, I have to make sure it didn't escape from a federally-funded vending machine.)

While I return for the fall semester I'll also be working on adult stem cells and umbilical-cord-blood stem cells. There are some promising leads on those fronts, but the net effect is still that I'm doing my work with one paw tied behind my back. I'm not a person to rush into things (as Fenton knows from his multiple rejected marriage proposals) but I can't help thinking of the lives that will be lost due to the cures that will be be unnecessarily delayed.

Thanks for the use of the soapbox. Next week's blog will be funnier.