QDIS Blog

A newly announced technology related to stems cells has been in the news recently and some of those articles are listed below.

• The Stem-Cell War Heats Up - Newsweek Health - MSNBC.com
• TIME.com: Why the Stem Cell Advance May Not Be a Breakthrough
• Firm makes “ethical” embryo stem cells | Top News | Reuters.com
• Critic Alleges Deceit in Study On Stem Cells

The technique describes a method to remove embryonic stem cells without destroying the embryo. While many think this gets around some of the ethical objections, I’m not as hopeful. It will be interesting to see how this develops and I think there will still be objections to this. It will b interesting to se what objections are now raised. My best guess is those opposed to stem cell research will suggest that after removing the stem cells the embryos may no longer be able to be implanted into a womb and therefore it is the same as killing them. There will be many questions raised and the goal for everyone should be to see if these are legitimate scientific questions or are they objections raised to prevent or slow further stem cell research. Look for phrases such as “we don’t know what will happen after a cell is removed from these embryos” or “we don’t know that the embryo is indeed viable” and further no effort made on their part to support such claims.

Technorati Tags: stem cells

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Just saw an article in USAToday about the CDC and the University of Colorado developing a microchip capable of detecting bird flu and identifying where the virus originated. The new test takes longer (about 12 hours) vs the lab test of 4 hours but the lab test only says it is positive or negative.

USATODAY.com - CDC announces test distinguishing bird flu

Technorati Tags: avian flu, bird flu, biological microchip

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I’ve posted about Gardasil several times here and was even a guest on the Bicyclemark Audio Communique to discuss it before it was approved. I am very excited about it as it is the first cancer vaccine to be approved and works very well for several varieties of human papillomavirus (HPV) that cause the majority of cervical cancer cases. I would point out that getting this vaccine does not guarantee the female will not get cervical cancer but the odds are dramatically reduced.

New Cervical Cancer Shot Hard to Find - Newsday.com

However, Newsday is reporting that the vaccine is hard to find. Many doctors offices and clinics don’t yet have the shots on hand. It is interesting that a lot of students retuning to college or high school get physical checkups now and it is important to have the vaccine available. Otherwise, it is likely a year or more before they see a doctor again. I would note that I checked the FDA webpage on drug shortages and Gardasil is not one of them. So it would appear to not be a case of a shortage but more a case of it not being on hand where it is needed in doctors offices and clinics. A Merck spokesperson said it was available in all 50 states but would not comment on the amount shipped.

Another major concern is that health insurance may not cover the cost. The vaccine is a series of three shots and the cost is estimated to be several hundred dollars ($300-500). While I think it is well worth this to eliminate the chance of contracting HPV which could lead to cervical cancer, I do realize that paying for this can be a problem for some people. Hopefully, this is just the usual issues you run into with a new medication and it just takes a while to get all the forms and reimbursements figured out. I hope it is not due to fear of political fall out if a company does decide to cover the vaccine.

• Gardasil Vaccine Information from Merck

Technorati Tags: cervical cancer, Gardasil, Merck, cancer vaccine

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