bLogicus::Main  Home | About | Contact | Site map  HomeAugust 27, 2008A Victory for Stem Cell ResearchersControversy surrounding embryonic stem cells has consumed an elicit amount of time and unethical research in this area has been unabashedly promoted on the basis of hype and ill-formed promises. An amazing breakthrough involving adult stems cells ought to silence those in favor of harvesting cells from early humans:Scientists have transformed one type of fully developed adult cell directly into another inside a living animal, a startling advance that could lead to cures for a variety of illnesses and sidestep the political and ethical quagmires associated with embryonic stem cell research. [snip]The experiments, detailed online yesterday in the journal Nature, raise the prospect that patients suffering from not only diabetes but also heart disease, strokes and many other ailments could eventually have some of their cells reprogrammed to cure their afflictions without the need for drugs, transplants or other therapies. Despite the long road ahead prior to human application, the new technology is a remarkable achievement and the researchers ought to be congratulated.Earlier this year, ESCR received (another) fatal blow by published research which concluded that human embryonic stem cells are rapidly rejected by the immune system. Of course, the FDA has yet to approve any clinical trial with embryonic stem cells because these cells (whether growing or even pre-differentiated) have a nasty tendency to form cancerous tumors (FRC Blog).Unfortunately, the technological failures and identification of a replacement for ESCR doesn't resolve the clash of worldviews and moral standards that remain at the heart of the issue. Individuals and societies who are involved in and support ESCR view themselves as moral because their actions follow from an ethical standard that both justifies and motivates their decisions. In fact, the humanistic ethic that enables the murder of the unborn or the diseased, when pressed, will find little support in the absolute sense for the sanctity of human life that is not unborn or diseased because such sacredness can only be persuasive when derived from a transcended source (God).Rejection of God means the acceptance of something else, some other ultimate authority or purpose from which standards for right and wrong are derived. This active replacement of Christian ethics with principles upon which ESCR is justified has practical consequences and will lead nations to progressively adopt increasingly oppressive practices that target the weak and defenseless based upon their utilitarian value to others.Posted by tim at 7:46 PM| Comments (0)| TrackBack (0)Resume writers - High quality resume & CV writing for all career fields – professional service at low prices. May 4, 2008Amazon's Kindle Back in StockAmazon’s Kindle is a unique technology that is positioned to deliver electronic and print media, including books and newspapers, in a package that is highly mobile yet provides a reading experience matching a typed page. The product rapidly sold out late last year and Amazon's supply chain seemingly collapsed. Those issues are over and it appears that a warehouse full of product awaits consumers.The low power grayscale screen provides highly readable text and wireless connectivity, without a monthly service charge, enables readers to access the Kindle store from most locations.With over 100,000 electronic books available, the innovative device is likely to achieve significant market penetration for mainstream book readers. In my estimation, the current offering will fail to capture many of the classic texts of interest to Christians, instead emphasizing books likely to generate significant sales. Even so, the Kindle represents the coming change to fully electronic media, in which vast libraries are at the command of the reader. An incredible amount of content is “just there”, wherever you go, in a highly readable format.Because the electronic books are of little value once reader, I would prefer a subscription service that charged a monthly fee for unlimited books, a rental rather than purchase. This would truly place a mobile library at my fingertips without significant (initial) investment.Posted by tim at 6:49 PMMarch 23, 2008A Lesson from ERI stopped watching ER more years ago than I can remember. However, this scene from a reason episode has a lesson worth considering.Posted by tim at 5:41 AMDecember 21, 2007Blogs For Life Set for January 22, 2008FRC will host the third-annual Blogs For Life conference on January 22nd, 2008 at Family Research Council Headquarters in Washington, D.C. beginning at 8:00a.m. This event will precede the March for Life, which will mark the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.A webcast will be available for those who can't make it to D.C..Speakers to include:Hadley P. ArkesMichael IllionsEric SchiedlerJill StanekStar ParkerDetails and registration are developing, so check back for more details after the new year.Posted by tim at 8:42 AMDecember 13, 2007Tyranny Reigns in ZimOnce a regional breadbasket, Zimbabwe has grappled with rampant inflation during seven years of recession. Shortages of foreign exchange, fuel and food have been widely blamed on mismanagement by the government of President Robert Mugabe.On a monthly basis, the consumer price index rose by 18.6 percent, according to the Central Statistical Office (CSO).The central bank has forecast inflation to rise to between 700-800 percent by March before it starts to slow down, although some analysts say Zimbabwe could for the first time record four digit inflation figures this year.Its inflation rate is one of the highest in the world."The whole of housing expenditure, education and food and non-food items have contributed more to the annual inflation figure," CSO acting director Moffat Nyoni told journalists.</blockquote>Few countries have been so devastated by the policies put in place by one man. Mugabe, who last year denied the obvious widespread food shortages, now blames the country's economic nightmare on others:<blockquote>Mugabe denies charges that his policies are responsible for the economic crisis, maintaining the economy has been sabotaged by Western powers opposed to the seizures.</blockquote>His lies are apparent - inflation results from <strong>government</strong> creation of money. Despite all of this and much more, President Robert G. Mugabe's party nominated him as its candidate in the presidential election in March. Posted by tim at 10:08 PMJuly 30, 2007We’ve been deceived in the most profound mannerMan vs Wild macho man Bear Grylls checked into hotels during his survival adventures and had his crew help out in difficult situations:But this British adventurer is now the subject of an investigation by U.K.'s Channel 4, which already has confirmed that Grylls checked into motels on a few occasions when he was depicted on TV having slept under the stars. Other allegations have been made suggesting that the crew that records Grylls in action isn't as hands-off as it might appear to viewers.[snip] For all its self-professed realism, "Man" always required some suspension of disbelief. Grylls often commented on the painful loneliness of being alone in the wild, but unless his camera crew was staffed by bears, he did have some company out there.In retrospect, Grylls' preternatural unflappability in even the most dire of circumstances always seemed a bit too good to be true. In one episode, he made an interminable slog through hip-deep snow drifts in the French Alps. Braving the frigid conditions, his frustration was evident only in the following comment: "I'd really murder for a cup of tea."For all we know now, perhaps he was sipping English Breakfast on fine china between takes.Perhaps at this point we should pause and question the legitimacy of educational/nature reality shows in which the actors unnecessarily risk life and limb in a portrayal of bravery and survival tactics. Do we really expect to a person to purposefully put themselves in a dire situation so that we can be thrilled by their eventual survival?Posted by tim at 5:47 PMJuly 20, 2007That Intelligent Checkers GameThere are 500,995,484,682,338,672,639 possible different checkers play positions and a computer program, called "Chinook", knows them all. If you play your game perfectly the best possible outcome against the computer is a draw. You can never win.Chinook was developed by scientists at the University of Alberta who used an average of 50 computers for two years (876,000 computational hours) to determine the best move to play in every situation of a game. The leader of the team described the feat this way:"We've taken the knowledge used in artificial intelligence applications to the extreme by replacing human-understandable heuristics [rules of thumb] with perfect knowledge. It's an exciting demonstration of the possibilities that software and hardware are now capable of achieving."The assembled knowledgebase of checkers combinations is rather impressive but don't you find it somewhat ironic that the strictly deterministic algorithm, with "perfect knowledge", is called "intelligent"? Leading up to this pinnacle, algorithms were created to mimic human thought by employing heuristics, Bayesian networks, expert systems and other automated inference engines. Continue reading "That Intelligent Checkers Game"Posted by tim at 11:18 PMJune 25, 2007Don't Live Your FaithThat's what Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) told an audience of 10,000 at the United Church of Christ in Hartford:"Doing the Lord's work is a thread that's run through our politics since the very beginning," Obama told church members. "And it puts the lie to the notion that the separation of church and state in America -- a principle we all must uphold and that I have embraced as a constitutional lawyer and most importantly as a Christian -- means faith should have no role in public life."His notion of faith appears to be a hollow appeal to sentimentality, in which one assents to a particular ideal but never experiences a life altering change. Or, perhaps his view reflects a desperate attempt to find meaninging through an irrational faith that cannot be expressed or known.Continue reading "Don't Live Your Faith"Posted by tim at 12:35 PMMay 19, 2007Adult stem cells and Spinal Cord InjuriesFollowing a head on collision, Jeni Rummelt was paralyzed from the waste down. After six years as a paraplegic, therapy with adult stem cells has apparently given her feeling in her lower extremities:The first step, a trip to Moscow, Russia. For a procedure not available in the u-s - adult stem cell therapy at the Neurovita Clinic. "The give you shots for four days on the 5th day what those shots have done is make your bone marrow create an abundance of stem cells." The stem cells are drawn from Rummelt's own blood and separated in a special machine. Then they are injected into her spinal fluid. Three trips and six injections later Rummelt can use her hip-flexers to crawl. A considerable feat, after not being able to move the lower half of her body for years."I had no feeling, no sensation, if my leg fell I had no idea at all," said Rummelt. With therapy Rummelt grows stronger everyday she can even stand. And she can actually feel pain in her foot, five years post injury. Rummelt credits the stem cell injections and her intense physical therapy. The potential is quite amazing. So is this video. It's thrilling to see the development of potential therapies for injuries previously thought to be permanent. However, you have to wonder why this has gotten to little coverage. Reflections of a Paralytic commentsIt is disappointing that this story is not found anywhere else. Any treatment that gives feeling and movement back to a patient with a complete spinal cord injury 5 years later is truly a medical breakthrough. This simply does not happen.Research and applications involving adult stem cells simply do not get the same attention that is given to mere speculation concerning the potential of embryo destroying stem cell research. Why?Posted by tim at 3:37 AMMay 11, 2007Christless ChristianityAfter a lengthy blogging hiatus I bring you two paragraphs from Michael Horton’s article, Christless Christianity:No matter what we say we believe about Christ's person and work, if we aren't constantly bathed in it, the end result will lead to H. Richard Niebuhr's description of Protestant liberalism: "A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through a Christ without a cross." According to University of North Carolina sociologist Christian Smith, the working religion of America's teens-whether evangelical or liberal, churched or unchurched-is "moralistic, therapeutic deism." And the answer to that, according to many megachurches and emerging churches is "do more; be more authentic; live more transparently." This is the good news that will change the world?Christless Christianity can be promoted in contexts where either the sermon is a lecture on timeless doctrine and ethics or Christ gets lost in all the word studies and applications. Christ gets lost in churches where activity, self-expression, the hype of "worship experiences" and programs replace the ordinary ministry of hearing and receiving Christ as he is given to us in the means of grace. Christ gets lost when he is promoted as the answer to everything but our condemnation, death, and the tyranny of sin, or as the means to the end of more excitement, amusement, better living, or a better world-as if we already knew what these would look like before God addressed us in his law and gospel.To read the entire article you need to subsribe, which is well worth doing. Or you can sign-up for a free trial.Posted by tim at 6:17 PMPreviously ...Adult Stem Cell Research to Benefit Diabetics -Mar 28, 2007Adult Stem Cells Treat Heart Disease -Mar 27, 2007'Glow In The Dark Mosquitoes' Fight Malaria -Mar 21, 2007If they're not human what are they? -Mar 15, 2007Rudy Giuliani is NOT our Man -Mar 15, 2007Let the Computers Decide? -Mar 14, 2007A High Value Target -Mar 03, 2007Romney and the Pro-Life Vote -Feb 13, 2007Giuliani and Social Conservatives -Feb 13, 2007Giuliani Nears Candidacy, Discusses Abortion (video) -Feb 05, 2007Will Giuliani Pick a Ginsburg? -Feb 05, 2007Bad News for the Bears - Favre Will Return in 2007 -Feb 02, 2007Mitt Romney and the Pro-Life Vote -Feb 02, 2007Does Giuliani Merit the Pro-Life Vote? -Feb 01, 2007Where there is suffering ... -Jan 29, 2007Prenatal Testing for Down Syndrome -Jan 29, 2007Designer Babies? -Jan 09, 2007Attending the Annual March for Life? -Jan 05, 2007Calling all Pro-Life Bloggers -Dec 12, 2006How will the Discovery of the Apostle Paul’s Remains Change Your Life? -Dec 11, 2006Thanksgiving Praise -Nov 23, 2006How to Make Money Using Google Ads -Nov 15, 2006Proposition 107 Deception -Nov 09, 2006Thanks Len Munsil! -Nov 08, 2006Napolitano Defeats Munsil? -Nov 07, 2006Vote Pro-Life -Nov 07, 2006Arizona Voters -Nov 06, 2006Arizona: Vote for Len Munsil -Nov 06, 2006Ted Haggard Dismissed by his Church -Nov 04, 2006Haggard and Evangelical Pragmatism - Updated -Nov 03, 2006Haggard and Evangelical Hypocrisy -Nov 03, 2006Len Munsil for Governor (Video) -Nov 02, 2006Kyl vs Pederson on Abortion -Nov 02, 2006Don't Let Judges Redefine Marriage: Yes on Arizona Proposition 107 -Nov 02, 2006Vote for a Reagan Conservative (Len Munsil) -Nov 01, 2006Napolitano Backs Away from Kerry -Nov 01, 2006The Troops Respond to Sen. John Kerry -Nov 01, 2006Failed Statements by Sen. John Kerry -Nov 01, 2006Why is she hiding? -Nov 01, 2006A Few Links for Arizona Voters -Nov 01, 2006MSM Promotes the Democratic Party -Oct 31, 2006The Bankrupt Tactics of Proposition 107 Opponents -Oct 27, 2006Vote 'Yes' on AZ Proposition 107 -Oct 25, 2006Obama's Support for Partial Birth Abortion -Oct 25, 2006Napolitano: Where's the Vision? -Oct 24, 2006Arizona's Spending Problem -Oct 22, 2006Calling Arizona Bloggers -Oct 22, 2006Once upon a time marriage was ... -Oct 20, 2006Arizona Proposition 107 -Oct 20, 2006What Gov. Janet Napolitano Feeds You -Oct 19, 2006CategoriesArizonaChristians [Church] [Missions] [Persecution] [Theology] CommentaryCulture and Society [Economics] [Education] [Entertainment] [Family] [Government] Environment [Global Warming] [Hurricanes] [Tsunami Crisis] Health [Diabetes] HistoryInternational [China] [Iran] [Iraq] [Nigeria] [Sudan] [Zimbabwe] Issues [ACLU] [Terrorism] Life Issues [Abortion] [Cloning] [Euthanasia] [Stem Cells] Media [CBS Memos] News [International] [Nation] [Politics] [Sports] Nutrition [Coffee] Religion [Islam] Science [Creation Science] Short ShotsTechnology [Artificial Intelligence] [Blogging] [Patents] [Toys] [Web Resources] Recent EntriesA Victory for Stem Cell ResearchersAmazon's Kindle Back in StockA Lesson from ERBlogs For Life Set for January 22, 2008Tyranny Reigns in ZimWe’ve been deceived in the most profound mannerThat Intelligent Checkers GameDon't Live Your FaithAdult stem cells and Spinal Cord InjuriesChristless ChristianityMost PopularTrackbackTrackback SpamDesigner Babies?Brett Farve Day Nov. 29, 2004Short Shots v2Post Birth AbortionsDon't Live Your FaithSubscribe            ArchivesAugust 2008May 2008March 2008December 2007July 2007June 2007May 2007March 2007February 2007January 2007December 2006November 2006October 2006July 2006June 2006May 2006April 2006March 2006February 2006January 2006December 2005November 2005October 2005September 2005August 2005July 2005June 2005May 2005April 2005March 2005February 2005January 2005December 2004November 2004October 2004September 2004August 2004July 2004June 2004May 2004April 2004March 2004February 2004January 2004October 2003September 2003var site="sm6blogicus" Helpful Sites Makeup Brushes First Street Custom Essay Cancer Personality gift basket filler Chelation Unclog Arteries Drug Treatment Centers Diabetes Treatments Mobility Scooters Lift Chairs for your home Arizona The Arizona Conservative Jakubczyk on Life Len Munsil Intellectual Conservative Hot AZ It Gets Lighthouse Blog Cactus Alliance The Sonoran Alliance The Center for Arizona Policy Arizona Right to Life Immanuel Presbyterian Church Christians Modern church news Pyromaniacs The Right View Mark Roberts Slice of Laodicea Jolly Blogger George Grant Tim Challies prosthesis - technology and science Parableman The Dawn Treader One Hand Clapping La Shawn Barber’s Corner Hugh Hewitt Evangelical Outpost Contemplative Communities The Alliance Blogs4Life Cactus Alliance PCA Blogs League of Reformed Bloggers Evangelical Aggregator BlogsforTerri Blogdom of God FreedomsZone Pro-Life Blogs Political PoliBlog EeevilConservative Part-Time Pundit Sounding the Trumpet Stop The ACLU Hyscience Political Blogs Directory Captain's Quarters World Magazine Blog Michelle Malkin Pro-Life Blogs4Life Jakubczyk on Life LTI Blog The Dawn Patrol JivinJehoshaphat Reasoned Audacity BlogsforTerri Imago Dei Pro-Life Blogs Resources Reformation21 Monergism Covenant Media Foundation Christian Classics Ethereal Library Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals Reformation Theology New Hope Blog Presbyterian Church in America Presbyterian Church in America Science Center for Science and Culture Evolution News & Views Blogorithm Technology Christian Hosting Vital Signs Medical Blogs Stem Cell Blog Diabetologica Worthy Organizations Lakeside Church Persecution Blog Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation Alliance Defense Fund Family Research Council Redeemer Christian School In Touch Mission International Arizona Right to Life Immanuel Presbyterian Church Home | About | |
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