Category: news

from the penny-wiseÖ? dept.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted on 31 July 2001 to ban human cloning and to prohibit the practice of cloning human embryos for medical research. The vote would ban cloning not only for reproduction but also for medical research. The measure passed by a wide margin, 265-to-162. The House also rejected a less restrictive measure that would have prohibited making babies by cloning while allowing research into "therapeutic cloning". The rhetoric of the debate was impassioned, and often based on religious or moral grounds, rather than scientific or medical issues:
"Cloning treats human embryos — the basic elements of life itself — as a simple raw material," House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said. "This exploitative, unholy technique is no better than medical strip mining."
Others said the bill would derail possibly vital medical breakthroughs. "This would stop ongoing studies to help people suffering from a whole litany of life-threatening diseases," House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, D-Mich., said

Coverage of the vote is available from UPI and the New York Times.

from the mushrooming-regional-NT-programs dept.
According to a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on 12 July 2001, funding has been approved for two major nanoscience research initiatives at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York.

One set of studies will focus on understanding the nanoscale properties of catalysts, substances that initiate or speed up the rates of chemical reactions, with the goal of exploiting these properties to optimize chemical reactivity and selectivity. The second initiative will explore how electric charges move at the nanoscale. These studies could lead to advances in energy-conversion devices such as those that convert sunlight into electricity, and new "molecular electronics" for tinier, faster computer circuits.

Both programs will also develop and refine methods of nanofabrication to build improved materials atom by atom or molecule by molecule.

from the reasonable-caution dept.
The Ecological Society of America (ESA) has released a statement on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which states the ESA "supports the judicious use of biotechnology." Concerning the release of GMOs, the statement says "Since long-term ecological impacts of GMOs may be extremely difficult to predict or study prior to commercialization, ESA strongly recommends a cautious approach to releasing GMOs into the environment. GMOs should be evaluated and used within the context of a scientifically based regulatory policy that encourages innovation without compromising sound environmental management. The process by which this occurs should be open to public scrutiny."