Putting Some Skin in the Game

News from the science desk tells us that some intrepid researchers have developed a method of converting average skins cells into stem cells, which then have the potential benefits that have been argued possible only with human embryo cells. ...This is HUGE, if it proves out.

Evaporate would the debate about destroying humans to harvest their stem cells. Poof!

But perhaps the best part about the news, aside from the potential life-saving possibilities, is the fact that this research was, in some part, motivated by the insistence of our president not to invest federal funds to provide more lines of human embryo stem-cells. In other words, researches had to work the contingencies. And they came up with a process that is actually more simple and accessible than the one the president denied them.

So will Bush ever get an iota of credit for sticking to his principles, which contributed to this most amazing work? Will outspoken critics like Micheal J. Fox thank the president for causing scientists to pursue other avenues, which led to this incredible new future? Don't bet your skin on it.