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Hank Greeley, professor of law at Stanford, philosophized on the various bioethical issues, showing us how every side had six or twelve variations to it-my favorite part was when Stephen Minger raised his hand and asked why it was "okay" for blastocysts left over from in vitro fertility clinics to be disposed of, but not okay for them to allowed to help in research. Hank said, "I suspect my answer would be the same as yours, so let me pose a different question- what about the embryos that are lost in unprotected human sexual intercourse? We must remember, it is perfectly true that sex kills embryos!" There was so much more-Thomas Okarma, CEO, Geron. He was scheduled to speak the following day, but I looked up his company in the pages of the Burrill Stem Cell Report, Volume 2, Number 1: "We are preparing to enter the clinic with the first human embryonic stem cell-based product: GRNOPC1 for spinal cord injury". The first human embryonic stem cell-based product. which had sprung from the experiment performed by Dr. Hans Keirstead, funded by the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act. It was probably a good thing I was not there for that presentation, because I would have been jumping up and down, waiting for public comment, eternally eager to point out our family's small claim to fame. There were nuts-and-bolts challenges and regulatory updates from Celia Whitten, director of the Office of Cellular Tissue at the FDA, and Donald Berry, dept. of Biostatistics at the Andersen Cancer Center. A networking session was sponsored by the Consulate General of Canada, forging bonds of friendship and intellectual exchange; Legal mazes were explored and traps ahead pointed out by Dana Welch, Executive Director of UC Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy, and Susan Stayn, member of Stanford Program on Stem Cells in Society, aided by long-term friend of the CIRM Ken Taymor, MBV Law, and Nancy Forbes, Partner, Ropes and Gray, and Russell Kurobkin, Professor of Law, UCLA. The great Irving Weissman, director of Stanford's Institute for Regenerative Medicine, spoke on stem cells and cancer. A panel of experts opined on "Hunting the Heart Cell: Implications for Cardiovascular disease"- And more and more and more, too much to name, an overflowing cornucopia- The CIRM Strategic plan, the view from the UK on International regulation, various methods of deriving stem cells- Bernie Siegel of Genetics Policy Institute chaired a panel on how Scientists and Advocates become Political Strategists-the panel included Michael Werner of the Werner Group, Kevin Wilson, director of Public Policy, American Society of Cell Biology, and Shane Smith, Ph.D, Science Director of the CNS Foundation-any one of those four would be worth a long drive to hear! But my very favorite was the Honorable Kay Patterson, Ph.D, Senator, Parliament of Australia, former Minister for Health and Ageing-and a stem cell legislation initiator. Dr. Patterson fought for a bill in the Australian legislator which would allow both embryonic stem cell research and SCNT. She faced and fought the same conservative forces we face right here. And she won. Because of her efforts, the research we all support is legal in Australia. Bernie Siegel spoke for us all when he stood up in the public comment section and said, "You are an international treasure; thank you." By Don Reed www.stemcellbattles.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn