Stem Cells and Random News
The recent development by Australian scientists of curing blindness within a month using contact lenses coated with adult stem cells and using those lenses on the same individual is nothing short of amazing. Even though it's only limited to corneal damage, reading about lifesaving and life-improving developments such as this makes it that much harder for me to side with those radical naysayers against any stem cell research (not that I ever have). However, as the way things are
From the religious concept of "ensoulment" to the legal concept of "personhood", this is a very complicated debate and even I still have trouble "drawing the line". So, I'm not going to start.
Now, I don't know if this is still true, but the FDA and "Big Pharma" (pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists) in the US has yet to legalize adult stem cell treatments (autologous stem cells - i.e., using your own cells on yourself). This is because the FDA has called these stem cells "drugs" and must be regulated. It's preposterous to think that when it comes time that you want to use your own stem cells to treat yourself, you can't because the pharmaceutical companies want the profits from basically patenting your cells as drugs.
I can see why though. Autologous stem cell treatments appear to be a tenth of the cost of their drug counterparts and Big Pharma stands to lose a lot of money from this unless they gain control of it for themselves. Sigh. Greed kills. The FDA and Big Pharma are in a way killing the people they aim to protect.
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To the person who killed the abortion doctor, you have severely undermined the public's sympathy for your position and your supporters by committing the very act you and your group sought to prevent. This is the ultimate irony of a "pro-lifer". Yes, he aborted late-terms and many of the procedures bordered on negative eugenics (eliminating genetic defects) but murdering someone because of his ideology is the stuff terrorism is made of.
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On a lighter note, from the front page of Globe and Mail website: Link - Sex: $100. Just listening: $400.
It's funny yet sad to see this industry grow in the recession. It seems when the man loses huge income, the love from the wife magically disappears. Indeed there is a "global problem with intimacy" (as quoted from the article) and my naive beliefs are repeatedly tested by what is seen. And I have seen that dense urban life can be really lonely.
In the comments: "The dating scene these days is either frustrating and annoying or bruising to the male ego to the point that I can see guys paying to get a few hours of relief." Hmm? Yes? No? Well, sure, sometimes nothing can be more annoying than an egg that just... sits... but I'd hate to be the one that can't swim either. If both sides can continually put forth the effort to meet in the middle, then perfection is conceived.
Ok, I'm done with the gross analogy. Haha. Bye.
