Breakfast at the Barracks - Season 3, Episode 40 Richard McCormick President Rutgers, The State University Richard L. McCormick is the 19th president of Rutgers. A scholar of American political history who began his academic career on the Rutgers faculty, he returned as president in 2002 after serving as provost of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and president of the University of Washington. He has promoted strategically selected interdisciplinary research initiatives in advanced materials and devices, nanotechnology, transportation, nutrition, homeland security, stem cell research, climate change and renewable energy, and global and international studies. Innovations have been a hallmark of Dr. McCormick's tenure, most notably a major restructuring and reinvigoration of undergraduate education on the university's largest campus. The plan reconnects the New Brunswick faculty to the work of undergraduate education and offers all 26000 undergraduates equal access to Rutgers' high-quality academic programs, participation in the intellectual work that characterizes the university, and access to learning communities of students with similar interests. Among the new initiatives is the Byrne Family First-Year Seminar Program, which offers more than 100 courses mdash;each with no more than 20 students mdash;on a wide range of topics taught by … Continue reading →

Never Too Young! Curing Themselves, Curing Millions From stem cell research to a disease you've probably never heard of, two young women are turning adversity into advocacy. By: SmartWomanNews … Continue reading →

By M. Alex Johnson, NBC News The Supreme Court refused to step into the emotionally charged debate over embryonic stem cell research Monday, declining to hear a case that sought to stop government funding on ethical grounds. The decision leaves in place President Obama's 2009 executive order expanding research on stem cells taken from human embryos, which many scientists say has the potential to produce breakthroughs in treatment of numerous conditions, particularly spinal cord injuries, diabetes and Parkinson's disease. Obama reasoned that research on stem cell lines from embryos created through in vitro fertilization was not ethically problematic.Congress banned the creation or destruction of embryos for research purposes in 1996. A federal court in Washington, D.C., issued an injunction temporarily blocking the order in August 2010 after two scientists opposed to all embryonic stem cell research, James Sherley of the Boston Biomedical Research Institute and Theresa Deisher of Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute, sued on behalf of "plaintiff embryos," contending that Congress had forbidden any research whatsoever on embryonic stem cells. Since then, federal courts have rejected their contention that the failure of the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services to respond to their arguments … Continue reading →

Reuters The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a long-standing appeal from scientists who tried to block funding of stem cell research on human embryos. The brief order from the justices is a victory for supporters of federally funded testing to combat a range of diseases and illnesses. Federal courts had previously lifted an injunction on continued funding, and this latest high court action probably means the lawsuits will be ultimately dismissed. The field of embryonic stem cell research has been highly controversial, because in most cases, the research process involves destroying the embryo, typically four or five days old, after removing stem cells. These cells are blank and can become any cell in the body. Because of the destruction of embryos, most opponents believe this is a moral issue. Supporters of the research point to the potential for saving lives. Legislation passed in 1996 prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars in the creation or destruction of human embryos "for research purposes." Private money had been used to gather batches of the developing cells at U.S.-run labs. That congressional ban had been renewed annually. The current administration had broken with the Bush White House and issued rules in 2009 permitting those … Continue reading →

(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to review a challenge to federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research brought by two researchers who said the U.S. National Institutes of Health rules on such studies violate federal law. The decision brings an end to a lawsuit that had threatened to hamper stem cell research after a district court judge blocked the taxpayer funding in 2010. But some observers expected the Supreme Court would decline the take the case after an appeals court ruled that the funding could continue. U.S. law prohibits the NIH from funding the creation of human embryos for research or research in which human embryos are destroyed, but leaves room for debate over whether that includes work with human embryonic stem cells. Opponents of such research, including many religious conservatives, have argued that it is unacceptable because it destroys human embryos. Scientists hope to be able to use stem cells to find treatments for spinal cord injuries, cancer, diabetes and diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Shortly after taking office in 2009, President Barack Obama issued an executive order that expanded federal funding for research involving human embryonic stem cells in hopes it would … Continue reading →

Published: Jan. 7, 2013 at 4:49 PM WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court Monday rejected a challenge to expanded embryonic stem cell research. The challenge to President Obama's 2009 executive order expanding the research was brought in August 2009 by James Sherley and Theresa Deisher, two researchers who work with adult stem cells. Sherley works at the Boston Biomedical Research Institute. Deisher is a cellular physiologist. The researchers opposed the use of federal funding for the development of embryonic stem cell, or ESC, research saying such research was illegal under federal law -- the "Dickey-Wicker Amendment," which clearly provided "that no federal funds shall be used for 'research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero ... .'" A federal judge in Washington agreed, issuing an injunction against the expansion, but the federal appeals court in the capital reversed. "On appeal, we determined that [the National Institutes of Health] had reasonably interpreted the Dickey-Wicker Amendment [in the expanded research] and vacated the preliminary injunction entered by the district court," the appeals court opinion said. " ... … Continue reading →

The high court declined to hear a final appeal, thus ending a bid to block NIH support for research using these cells By Meredith Wadman and Nature magazine The Supreme Court decision ensures continued government funding for embryonic stem cell research. Image: Flickr/Mark Fischer The US Supreme Court today ended an effort to shut down government support of human embryonic stem cell research, refusing to hear a case that challenged the legality of funding for the work by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The high courts refusal to consider an appeal in the case of Sherley v. Sebelius ends a more than 3-year-old effort by the plaintiffs, two adult stem cell researchers, to stop NIH backing of the work, which holds the promise of treatments for a variety of diseases, but which depends upon the destruction of days-old human embryos. As is its typical practice, the court did not give its reasons for declining the case. Embryonic stem cell researchers were jubilant. We couldn't be happier that this frivolous, but at the same time potentially devastating distraction is behind us, says Douglas Melton, the co-scientific director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. But the lead plaintiff … Continue reading →

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Bernard Siegel, spokesperson for the Stem Cell Action Coalition and Executive Director of the Genetics Policy Institute (GPI), stated, The U.S. Supreme Court denied today the plaintiffs application to appeal the decision of the D.C. Court of Appeals, thereby ending Sherley v Sebelius in favor of the government and upholding federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research. This is a major victory for scientifically and ethically responsible innovative research. With the cloud of this case lifted, researchers can now rest assured that the challenge to the NIH's 2009 guidelines for funding for embryonic stem cell research is over. Patients and their advocates can rejoice that this potentially lifesaving research can proceed at the federal level. But at the same time we must remain vigilant against threats at state and other policy-making levels. Siegel said, GPI filed amicus briefs in the United States District Court and in the Court of Appeals supporting the governments position. We are pleased to have made a contribution to the successful outcome of the case and are grateful to GPI's counsel, Neal Goldfarb of the law firm of Butzel Long Tighe Patton, PLLC in Washington, D.C. for his extraordinary contribution to the cause. … Continue reading →

STORY HIGHLIGHTS (CNN) -- The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a long-standing appeal from scientists who tried to block funding of stem cell research on human embryos. The brief order from the justices is a victory for supporters of federally funded testing to combat a range of diseases and illnesses. Federal courts had previously lifted an injunction on continued funding, and this latest high court action probably means the lawsuits will be ultimately dismissed. The field of embryonic stem cell research has been highly controversial, because in most cases, the research process involves destroying the embryo, typically four or five days old, after removing stem cells. These cells are blank and can become any cell in the body. Because of the destruction of embryos, most opponents believe this is a moral issue. Supporters of the research point to the potential for saving lives. Legislation passed in 1996 prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars in the creation or destruction of human embryos "for research purposes." Private money had been used to gather batches of the developing cells at U.S.-run labs. That congressional ban had been renewed annually. Stem cells vs. heart attacks The current administration had broken with the Bush White … Continue reading →