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Remember Dr. David Hager,the Bush ob-gyn appointee to the NIH who prescribes bible reading for PMS? Ray "Sharon Begley who has a great weekly science column in the Wall Street Journal, exceeded her usual high standard today in a column on "U.S. Science Research Is in Danger of Losing Place on Cutting Edge". My favorite parts were near the end: Some appointees to federal scientific advisory panels have been chosen for their ideology rather than their expertise; staffers with no research credentials alter the scientific (not only the policy) content of reports on climate change. ... Politicians' attacks on the science of evolution continue, even though "intelligent design" may make a fascinating lesson for a philosophy class, but is not biology. ... "This anti-scientism couldn't be more damaging to young people contemplating devoting their life to research," says neuroscientist Ira Black... ... Since scientific innovation has long fueled economic growth, there is a danger "that the U.S. will no longer be dominant in innovation," says G. Wayne Clough, president of the Georgia Institute of Technology and a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. " ... And finally, I am convinced the ending paragraph will prove prophetic: An interesting battle will come when a lab in Singapore or Seoul or Britain uses embryonic stem cells to develop a therapy for diabetes or Parkinson's or heart disease. Its use in the U.S. would require approval by the Food and Drug Administration. Will opponents of stem-cell research demand that the FDA reject it and deprive patients of their only hope? " ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn Yes,they will.