Dr. Jonathan Garlick of Tufts University has created a rap video that makes light of the sad state of politics surrounding stem cell research, while challenging people to investigate and form their own opinions. Make no mistake, this video is painful to watch, but Jonathan has his heart in the right place.
I find it both funny and sad that scientists are having to create rap videos to get people’s attention. Stem cell research is a small corner of science that potentially holds the cure to a nearly endless list of ailments, such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s.
All he wants to do… is treat disease. Learn about stem cells… it holds the key. Nerves and skin and bones…
You’re totally right on two accounts: the video is painful to watch and it is funny/sad that scientists are resorting to rap for publicity.
Speaking as someone in the bio sciences, I think it’s vital to make a distinction between *embryonic* versus *adult* stem cells as a research tool. Embryonic stem cell lines are already available for research (the moratorium from the Bush administration didn’t limit use of the em-stem cell lines previously created–just limited creation of new ones), make up a minority of the [successful] research programs on stem cell therapies, and suffer from a disordinate/creepy celebrity cult of personality.
Adult stem cell lines, on the other hand, are widely available research tools, have already led to far more progress and promise as potential therapies, sadly get little press, and do not pose the same ethical and political ramifications… Let’s go with what is a more certain avenue for cures and gets the most support from the general public!
Anyway, thanks for giving this some press–yay for adult stem cell research! (Hit me up if you want references from the published science literature.)