Stem Cell News and Video

A cool video from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation website. The assisted walking on a treadmill the patients are doing in the video is exactly what I do during therapy, as well as the electrical stimulation bike you can see patients hooked up to.

Also from the Reeve Foundation site - an update on the first ever FDA-approved recipient of embryonic stem cells. You may remember the company, Geron, from the news last year when the trial was given the go ahead; now, it's moving to its second patient. The first recipient of the cells is reporting some sensory improvements, which is a good sign, obviously, and, hilariously, he's signed with an agent to figure out 'how to best tell his story'. Good luck with that, bro.    

There is also a report on another drug that's showed promising results in an acute SCI Phase 1 trial. Passing Phase 1 means that the drug is safe and won't make you develop a third arm, or colorblindness, or something; even still, it's a good sign. I'm definitely more interested in treatments of chronic injuries, but the more trials and therapies being developed to combat SCI as a whole, the better.

Stem Cells in the News

Every time I read a story like this, about someone with a recent spinal cord injury, it's heartbreaking. Not just because I know the acute-care horrors they are facing, from ventilators and crazy nurses to the mind-numbing uncertainty that comes with it all, but because I also know the longer-term struggles, the hopes of recovery that may flicker yet never quite disappear, and the monotony and solitude that can accompany a sedentary life.

It warms my heart, though, to think back on the support and love I received in the aftermath of my injury, and it is my constant hope and prayer that each person I read about is lucky like I was, and still am. Because I have hope, and without that, you have nothing.

But it's news like this which makes my attempts at recovery all the more frustrating. Dr. Sean Morrison, the director of U of M's Center for Stem Cell Biology and a major proponent of Proposal 2, the 2008 ballot measure which amended Michigan's state constitution to allow for embryonic stem cell research, is leaving to take a similar, yet much better funded job in Texas, taking a dozen or so colleagues with him. His departure is thanks in large part to having to "spend the last five to six years arguing with the Legislature about what kind of research would be permitted in the state, while in Texas they were looking for ways to invest billions of dollars into medical research." Cures are cures, no matter what state they originate in, but it bodes poorly for ours if we are having our top talent sniped away from us by those willing to make life-saving investments, while we'd rather argue about the sanctity of a petri dish that's about to be thrown into the garbage anyway.

Don't fret, there are great things happening in terms of research, as this feature in Fast Company attests. But my hope is that researchers continue to cast as wide of nets as possible in their search for cures, and not be dissuaded by the maniacal fringe.


Some levity:


Great Obama impression:


The real Kung-fu Panda:

bin Laden Dead

To be a fly on the wall in that room...

Time's 'Red X' cover has been used but four times: to mark the deaths of Hitler, Saddam, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Al-Qaeda's no.3 and the mastermind of the Iraq insurgency, and now bin Laden.

A poignant scene in NYC.

I was about to go to bed Sunday night, around 10:40ish, when I flipped back over to the Times website to quickly scan headlines and queue up any articles I may have missed that day, to be read the next. What I saw, blared across the top in 48-point font, would keep me up for the next couple of hours. 'Osama bin Laden Dead', it yelled. Wow. I had grown skeptical this day would ever come. Assuredly, bin Laden had already died of exposure in the mountains, or been killed by a drone, or a random bomb, his death in itself an act of defiance, denying America the closure and measure of revenge it desperately craved. But no, bin Laden was alive the whole time, living the past 5 years or so in the same town as Pakistan's equivalent of West Point, in a million dollar, highly secure compound. (Hmmmmm...something is rotten in the state of Pakistan.) 

Here are a few resources to break down the inevitable questions this momentous occasion creates:

- a New Yorker piece seeks to answer some background questions, like where was he found, who was living with him, and what his death means for the future of al-Qaeda. 

- the NYT's newest Op-Ed writer Joe Nocera takes a similar tack, asking if bin Laden's death makes the world safer, in relation to 4 specific areas: The Arab Spring (may help democratic reforms maintain momentum), Afghanistan (may help end quagmire), terrorism (the threat continues, with or without bin Laden), and American-Muslim world relations (still a lot of mistrust on both sides, not helped by NATO campaign in Libya).

- a Washington Post  Op-Ed focuses on an interesting consequence as well - the effect of bin Laden's death on Obama's reelection chances. While Democratic candidates typically are considered weak on defense and foreign affairs while being strong on domestic issues, right now Obama is the opposite, making the upcoming campaign a unique and intriguing one.  

- From Time, here are two detailed accounts on the successful mission, the first describing the scene in D.C. and the second the scene on the ground in Pakistan. Amazingly, intelligence only deemed the likelihood that bin Laden was even in the compound at between 50 and 80%. Good call, Mr. President. I love the confirmation of bin Laden's presence in the compound: "Visual on Geronimo."

Flower Girl Zombie

Royal bridesmaid...or the undead? You be the judge...

The Comedian-in-Chief



Obama is a funny dude. He knows how to make fun of himself, and has great timing when delivering a line. Here are other highlights from his speech at the White House Correspondent's Dinner:

The Best of President Obama's Jokes:

On Donald Trump: "Now, I know that he's taken some flak lately but no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than The Donald. And that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter, like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac? All kidding aside, we all know about your credentials, and your breadth of experience. For example, on a recent episode of Celebrity Apprentice, at the steakhouse, the men’s cooking team did not impress the men from Omaha Steaks. There was lots of blame to go around, but you, Mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was a lack of leadership. Ultimately, you didn’t blame [rapper] Lil Jon or [singer] Meatloaf, you fired Gary Busey. These are the kinds of decisions that keep me up at night. Well handled, sir! Well handled."

On Michele Bachman: "Michele Bachmann is here. She is thinking about running for president, which is weird because I hear she was born in Canada. Yes, Michele, this is how it starts."

On His Waning Popularity: "[Seth Meyers] is a young, fresh face who can do no wrong in the eyes of his fans. Seth, enjoy it while it lasts ... Matt Damon recently said he was disappointed in my policies. Well, Matt, I just saw The Adjustment Bureau, so right back at you, buddy!”

Host Seth Meyers's Shots:
On Donald Trump: "Trump said he's running as a Republican. Which is surprising: I just assumed he was running as a joke ... Trump owns the Miss USA Pageant, which is great for Republicans because it will streamline the search for a vice president ... [Trump has] said he's got a great relationship with 'the blacks.' Unless the Blacks are a family of white people, I bet he's mistaken."

On The Media: "C-SPAN is one unpaid electric bill away from being a radio station ... Everyone knows how the MSNBC after-party goes: President Obama makes the Kool-Aid and everyone there drinks it ... Brian Williams came to dinner because it has the element he respects the most: cameras."

On Potential 2012 Republican Candidates: "As for a potential Republican field that could include Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich and Trump, that doesn't sound like a field of candidates -- that sounds like season 13 of Dancing with the Stars. And not the stars, the dancers."

On President Obama: "When you were sworn in you looked like the guy from the Old Spice commercials. Now you look like Louis Gosset Sr. If the president’s hair gets any whiter, the tea party is going to endorse it."

Happy Easter

It seems appropriate, on Easter, the day Jesus rose again and ascended into heaven, to draw attention to the questions raised by Grand Rapids' own Rob Bell, the popular pastor, bestselling author of Love Wins and recent subject of a Time cover story. The book's subtitle,  "A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived", hints at it's overall theme (disclosure: I've not read the book, but have followed the news and controversy over it, and am interested in the topics it addresses.) Put simply, it asks: Do you need to be a Christian to get into heaven? Obviously, this question and its subsequent discussion has sparked uproars in churches across America - if you don't need to be a Christian to go to heaven, what's the point of being a Christian? It rocks the very foundation the church is built upon: John 3:16, "that whomever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

But the question Bell presents at the front of the book is an intriguing one - is Gandhi in hell? According to a traditional Christian theology, yes, he is in hell. For that matter, then, of the 7-odd billion persons on Earth at this instant, billions of them are going to hell too. That's hard to accept, but that's what some interpretations of the Bible say. Kinda makes you want to become a missionary.

A quote from the article: "Bell insists he is only raising the possibility that theological rigidity — and thus a faith of exclusion — is a dangerous thing. He believes in Jesus' atonement; he says he is just unclear on whether the redemption promised in Christian tradition is limited to those who meet the tests of the church. It is a case for living with mystery rather than demanding certitude."

We'll just have to find out for ourselves when we get there.

And now: Bears.

Mama, Me, Mac (the chubby one :) ), then Jon.


God Bless the troops. Glad they have time to have at least a little fun.



This is classic. In the immortal words of Bubb Rubb, "Wooo Wooooooooo!"

Youtube Hits

This guy is getting his own show on Oprah's new network. It will be awesome.


Creepy, yet hilarious. I love some good performance art.


Wow, that girl went insane.

New Google Product

From Google: "The mouse and keyboard were invented before the Internet even existed. Since then, countless technological advancements have allowed for much more efficient human computer interaction. Why then do we continue to use outdated technology? Introducing Gmail Motion -- now you can control Gmail with your body."

I tried it and I must admit, it's pretty awesome. And it is not, I repeat, NOT an April Fool's prank.