---
I admit it. I have been MIA in the blogging world for the past six months.Mea culpa.There is a good reason. I am working in a neurobiology lab at the local university. We are researching ways to stop or slow the progression of Alzheimer ' s and other neurodegenerative disorders. I love it. After a decade of doom and gloom writing about the out-of-control biotechnology sector, I needed a change. One where I was actively contributing to positive research.I haven ' t totally abandoned writing though. Here is a teaser from my latest at theNational Catholic Register:I ve spent the last decade writing and speaking about t...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - February 6, 2017 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Biotechnology Source Type: blogs
Immoral Uses of Biotechnology Even With Good Intentions Are Nevertheless Evil
I admit it. I have been MIA in the blogging world for the past six months.Mea culpa.There is a good reason. I am working in a neurobiology lab at the local university. We are researching ways to stop or slow the progression of Alzheimer ' s and other neurodegenerative disorders. I love it. After a decade of doom and gloom writing about the out-of-control biotechnology sector, I needed a change. One where I was actively contributing to positive research.I haven ' t totally abandoned writing though. Here is a teaser from my latest at theNational Catholic Register:I ve spent the last decade writing and speaking about t...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - February 6, 2017 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Biotechnology Source Type: blogs
Chinese Scientists Look to Cure Lung Cancer With Genetic Engineering
< div > < span style= " color: #666666; " > There is a new tool in the biotechnology tool belt that may revolutionize the way medicine treats a host of diseases. It is called CRISPR-Cas9. CRISPR uses a bacterial enzyme to precisely edit DNA, and scientists all over the world are using it to transform cells in hopes that one day these genetically-altered cells may cure disease. < /span > < /div > < br / > < div > < span style= " color: #666666; " > Scientists in China are hoping CRISPR will successfully treat lung cancer, and they are launching a first-of-its-kind clinical trial in 10 patients who have exhausted other treat...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - July 26, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Genetic Engineering Source Type: blogs
Official USF Apparel Features Rainbow Flag
I am a University of San Francisco Don. This popped up in my Facebook feed this morning.
The product description is "University Of San Francisco - Logo With Gay Pride Flag" It seems the apparel is "officially licensed." There are no words. (Source: Mary Meets Dolly)
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - July 18, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: blogs
It's a Three-Peat!
For the third year in a row, my commentary has placed at the Catholic Press Awards. This year they won second place in the Best Regular Column Spiritual Life" category. In 2015, I won third place in the "Best Regular Column - Culture, the Arts, and Leisure." In 2014, my commentary won first place in same category. I think I can say it is a Three-Peat.I am sincerely grateful to the Register for giving my labor of love a home. There are few places that have the insight and vision to appreciate the importance of the topics I write about. Please give them your support.In case you missed any of my pieces at ...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - June 6, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: blogs
Genetic Engineering and Building a Better Soldier: Captain America vs. Ironman
COMMENTARY: Volunteering our bodies for non-therapeutic enhancement and experimentation isnt patriotic.
I will admit the question was loaded. I asked various Catholics, through my blog and social media, who was a better role model: Captain America or Ironman?
The answers werent surprising. The overwhelming choice was Captain America. Steve Rogers isnt only a paragon of courage and patriotism, hes an all-around nice guy, a champion for the weak and an example of self-sacrifice. Tony Stark, on the other hand, is a greedy narcissist whose philandering nearly everyone finds repugnant.
The question seemed outright rid...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - May 2, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Genetic Engineering Source Type: blogs
Uterus Transplants are " Supremely Risky "
< div > < span style= " color: #666666; " > It was a first in the United States. A woman, only identified as Lindsey, received a uterus from a deceased woman. Lindsey was born without a uterus, and she was hoping this transplant would enable her to get pregnant. At a press conference at the end of February, Cleveland doctors announced it was the first successful uterus transplant in the United States. Only days later, Lindsey suffered complications and had to undergo another surgery to remove the organ. < /span > < /div > < br / > < div > < span style= " color: #666666; " > The Cleveland team of doctors has been given perm...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - April 18, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Reproductive Technologies Source Type: blogs
Uterus Transplants are "Supremely Risky"
It was a first in the United States. A woman, only identified as Lindsey, received a uterus from a deceased woman. Lindsey was born without a uterus, and she was hoping this transplant would enable her to get pregnant. At a press conference at the end of February, Cleveland doctors announced it was the first successful uterus transplant in the United States. Only days later, Lindsey suffered complications and had to undergo another surgery to remove the organ.
The Cleveland team of doctors has been given permission to experiment with uterus transplants in nine other women, and a few other clinics will also attempt the proc...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - April 18, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Reproductive Technologies Source Type: blogs
BioTalk16 Genetic Enhancements
In this episode of BioTalk, Chelsea and I discuss genetic enhancements, and how they spell the loss of freedom and personal autonomy for future generations. They are "a biological arms race no one can win." (Source: Mary Meets Dolly)
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - February 15, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: BioTalk Source Type: blogs
U.S. Panel OKs Three-Parent Embryos with Sex Selection
This week a committee of scientists and ethicists have recommended to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that they approve three-parent embryo techniques for use in IVF in the United States. The committee calls it mitochondrial replacement techniques (MRT) because the goal is too "replace" defective mitochondria in woman with mitochondrial disease so they do not pass their genetic mutation onto their children.
We all have genetic material outside our nucleus in our mitochondria called mtDNA. We inherit our mtDNA solely from our mother. The mitochondria we inherit are in our mother's egg.
There are tw...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - February 5, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Genetic Engineering Source Type: blogs
Scientists, Governments Re-Engineer Language to Sell Public on Embryo Re-Engineering
A recent headline in the United Kingdoms Independent shouts that the first genetically modified human embryos could be created in Britain in just a few weeks. The article by Steve Connor reports that scientists have submitted a proposal to the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the governments fertility regulatory body, asking to edit the genes of leftover IVF embryos to try to treat infertility. Just today it was announced that the researchers have been given permission to move forward.The Independent headline is meant to shock and surprise, but if you are someone who is even remotely f...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - February 1, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Genetic Engineering Source Type: blogs
Olympics Changes Rules on Transgender Athletes - Women Lose
All of my daughters are athletes. It isn't always easy when my daughter's varsity basketball team plays after the boys, and the once full gym empties as the girls start their game. It is heart breaking, but they understand. Women are by nature not as athletic as men and so, for many, not as exciting to watch. But sport is still important for young women everywhere. My girls continue to learn valuable life lessons from pushing themselves physically and working together with other girls toward a common goal.A headline I read yesterday may signal the end of women's sports. The Olympic Committee has changed the rules on t...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - January 25, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: blogs
UK Science Adviser Urges Germ-line Modification of Human Embryos
Last month in Washington D.C., scientists from around the world met to discuss whether or not to use new, cutting-edge gene editing techniques to alter the DNA of embryos. The stakes are very high because any editing done that early in development would be considered a germ-line modification, one that will be incorporated into egg and sperm cells and then passed down to future generations. So any genetic engineering done at the embryonic stage will affect not just that embryo, but his or her children, grand children and great-grandchildren. Many of the scientists at this meeting are concerned. We should all be. Not o...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - January 22, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Genetic Engineering Source Type: blogs
My Speech at Walk for Life Northwest
It was very cold and very wet, but it was worth it. This weekend I spoke alongside Walter Hoye at the Walk for Life Northwest. He and his wife are amazing witnesses for life. I am so privileged that I got to met them.
The organizers likely asked me to speak because of my work with biotechnology, but I threw them a curve ball. Instead of talking about my normal fare, I decided to the crowd about my experience with unplanned pregnancy. Here is the video. (Source: Mary Meets Dolly)
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - January 18, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Abortion Source Type: blogs
Sherri Shepherd Surrogacy Tragedy Not Over
Sherri Shepherd, celebrity host of The View, and her now-ex-husband, Lamar Sally, hired surrogate Jessica Batholomew to carry a child conceived with Sallys sperm and a donor egg. Before Bartholomew could give birth to Lamar Jr., however, Shepherd filed for divorce and abandoned the boy both socially and financially. Batholomew was legally considered Lamar Jr.s mother. She was left to cover her own medical expenses and was on the hook for child support. After a long legal battle, Shepherd was officially placed on the childs birth certificate and ordered to pay monthly child support.Sheph...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - January 8, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Reproductive Technologies Source Type: blogs
