Expert Cited By Embryonic Stem Cell Opponents Grossly Distorts Research
Expert Cited By Embryonic Stem Cell Opponents Grossly Distorts Research
Next week, the Senate will consider a bill lifting restrictions on embryonic stem cell research imposed by President Bush in August 2001. Bush limited federally-funded research to embryonic stem cell lines already in existence, a move “widely decried by researchers and patient groups as a roadblock to the development of treatments for a range of diseases.”
Opponents of embryonic stem cell research frequently cite David Prentice, “a scientist with the conservative Family Research Council.” Prentice claims scientific papers prove that adult stem cell lines could be useful treatments “for at least 65 diseases.”
Prentice’s research is used to argue that enhanced embryonic stem cell research is unnecessary. On June 30, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) — one of the leading opponents of embryonic stem cell research — said “we have derived over 70 peer-reviewed and published medical treatments from adult stem cell research.”
It’s not true. A letter to the journal Science by three stem cell experts — Shane Smith, William Neaves and Steven Teitelbaum — debunks Prentice’s claim:
Prentice not only misrepresents existing adult stem cell treatments but also frequently distorts the nature and content of the references he cites…By promoting the falsehood that adult stem cell treatments are already in general use for 65 diseases and injuries, Prentice and those who repeat his claims mislead laypeople and cruelly deceive patients.
Only 9 of the 65 examples cited by Prentice hold up to scrutiny. For example, “a study cited by Prentice as evidence that adult stem cells can help patients with testicular cancer is in fact a study that evaluates methods of isolating adult stem cells.”
Prentice told the Washington Post “I appreciate them pointing out some of the things…that need to be changed and updated.” You can read the full list of Prentice’s distortions here.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
At least it’s not as bad as some of Frist’s claims. Being an MD you’d think he would actually be scientifically accurate… nope…
He’s still pro-creationism, diagnosed Terri Schiavo as “responsive” from a video tape, and thinks you can get AIDS readily through saliva. Ironically in this case though, he’s for stem cell research.
It seems that nobody on the right is competent (regardless of their background or training) to objectively discuss scientific matters.
July 15th, 2006 at 10:17 amGrossly distorted research:Standard operating procedure for the office of the present POTUS–and on down to other wingers.
July 15th, 2006 at 10:22 amIt seems that nobody on the right is competent (regardless of their background or training) to objectively discuss scientific matters.
July 15th, 2006 at 10:26 am——–
the OCH can not debate anyone or anything objectively
Well if he ever needs some stem cells, I’m sure they could harvest some out of that thing growing on his upper lip.
July 15th, 2006 at 10:39 amScience has a liberal bias.
July 15th, 2006 at 10:47 amScience has a liberal bias.
Gosh I hope you were being facetious.
If you look hard enough, you’ll find both Dems and Republicans twisting scientific claims to their needs at times. The science has always been about the pursuit of truth.
July 15th, 2006 at 10:51 amoh boy… i’m glad it’s saturday…
i almost posted this – “every picture tells a story, don’t it” – and it would have been at #1, but i didn’t want to seem so shallow… then DenverDem comes up with that one at #4 – w00t! – that was funny! a hearty chuckle from that!
and from Pete’s comment i remembered this, from colbert the other night: referring to joe lieberman’s primary race and “the kiss” from dubya – “evidently low approval ratings can be contracted through saliva.”
ok – back to the matter at hand…
July 15th, 2006 at 11:04 am#4- Great stuff, you beat me to the following punch line:
“I’m not just a customer! I liked it so much- I bought the company!!”
July 15th, 2006 at 11:17 amWhat is this obsession with the right-wing that using conscious adults (human or otherwise) in experiements is acceptable, but using a cluster of embryonic cells with no conscious is wrong, wrong, wrong!
That’s utterly and grossly ass-backwards.
It’s the consious life we should value, not clusters of non-conscious cells.
July 15th, 2006 at 11:23 amBush Your Boss at the Vatican is calling you to listen
Vatican condemns Israel for attacks on Lebanon
July 15th, 2006 at 11:27 amWith a moustache like that, he is obviously a pedophile.
July 15th, 2006 at 11:30 amOnly somewhat facetious, DrStinker.
Liberals venerate truth; Neo-cons despise it. And, unfortunately, those who control the media and a great number of Democrats are not liberals.
In the mean time, examples of Dems twisting science to meet their needs would be welcome.
Republican examples are currently so pervasive as to be almost axiomatic. Indeed, counter-examples would be welcome.
July 15th, 2006 at 11:30 amVe must proteckt ze unborn at all costs! Zees are our future foot soldiers in ze var against all non-beliefers! Science can only be adfanced through ze proper application of zound religious principles!
Unt since mine Gott has in His infinite visdumb has placed minen Bush in Kommand of ze most powerful army in ze entire vorld, ve vill prevail!!! Velcomen to ze New Vorld Order.
July 15th, 2006 at 11:39 amPeter,
The one example that comes to mind is the Clinton admin asking Hansen to overstate his claims regarding global warming. He refused to do so. Of course, this makes his current statements all the more troubling, but most Repubs of course ignore that.
The bottom line is that scientific studies rarely play well in the political realm. Scientists are hesitant to make definitive claims, particularly when there is some degree of uncertainty.
July 15th, 2006 at 11:44 amIs David Prentice wearing a paste on mustache ?
July 15th, 2006 at 11:47 amDemocrats have been twisting science to meet their needs for decades. Take evolution for example. What a bunch of scientific horse droppings! Where’s the evidence? Did anyone ever see a species evolve? No! The proof is in the rocks they say. Rocks? Rocks can tell us about living, breathing creatures? God created those rocks only a few thousand years ago. And if there’s any fossils in those rocks, He put them their to lead non-believers down the path to Satan and hell.
And cancer research? Democrats claim all sorts of things actually cause cancer. That’s twisting science again, having the premise prove the conclusion. I might as well say gravity causes things to fall. Gravity does not cause things to fall, dropping things causes them to fall. And that’s a scientific experiment anyone can do.
And global warming? Where’s the scientific research on that? Democrats! Only the Democrats want you to believe in global warming. They’ve twisted the research again to suit their twisted political agenda. It’s getting hotter than hell here on earth because God is punishing all the Democrats for their unbelieving ways.
Science is just the Democrats way of distorting the living breathing Word of God. Now, sell everything you own and give the profits to me and wait on the nearest mountain top for the rapture.
[sarcasm off]
July 15th, 2006 at 11:52 amWhat is this country coming to when you liberal whackjobs cannot bring yourselves to trust a scientist on Tony “Psycho for God” Perkins’ payroll?
And now, a word about Maureen Dowd: Wow, that was fast. Mo Do, after getting back on the political beat for just one day, is back to writing more fluff pieces for the NY Times, this one being entitled, What’s Up, Slut? What’s the matter, Mo Do, aren’t there enough assclowns to inspire you to get back on the Beltway beat?
July 15th, 2006 at 11:53 amMuch like with homosexuality, those on the religious right have a propensity to co-opt the services of a few like minded individuals with expert credentials to assist them in providing what appears to be authoritative information to support their positions. Paul Cameron, the primary “scientific†tool of the anti-gay movement, has been condemned by most psychological and sociological associations and yet he remains the source of most of the data that is offered to oppose gays. I find it ironic that these “Christians†have no hesitation to promote false or flawed scientific and statistical information in their efforts to “promote†a values driven society. Mr. Prentice is apparently becoming the Paul Cameron of stem cell opponents.
Read full article here:
http://www.thoughttheater.com
July 15th, 2006 at 11:53 amDrSinker,
I didn’t remember that had occurred. Could you provide a link, please?
Sorry to have called you “Stinker”.
July 15th, 2006 at 11:57 amYou think we could use stem cells to get rid of that mustache?
July 15th, 2006 at 11:58 amWORD FOR THE DAY (i like it!)
ax·i·o·mat·ic adj.
Of, relating to, or resembling an axiom; self-evident: “It’s axiomatic in politics that voters won’t throw out a presidential incumbent unless they think his challenger will clean house†(Peter Grier).
thank you – Peter Christian — July 15, 2006 @ 11:30 am
July 15th, 2006 at 11:58 amReply to #11 (Bloppo):
Bloppo, it’s not just the mustache….the creepy grin is also a dead giveaway.
Check here for more information.
July 15th, 2006 at 11:59 amMr. Prentice, here’s the deal. You and your conservative friends can have your medieval treatments for testicular and cervical cancers. The rest of us can have the most modern treatments possible through responsive and responsible science. Let’s see which group has the best and longest life.
Didn’t God give us brains to actually use??!!
July 15th, 2006 at 12:01 pmPeter,
Sure. I found it on the web after googling around a bit:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/17/60minutes/main1415985_page2.shtml
July 15th, 2006 at 12:02 pmkm4,
He might be! It looks like there might be a bit of excess paste over on near the corner, though that could just be spittle.
July 15th, 2006 at 12:07 pmCould somebody give this guy a mirror? Why would anyone TRY to make their hair and moustache look SO fake?
July 15th, 2006 at 12:11 pmWTF??? Why in the hell would they care? They are going to be raptured anyway!
July 15th, 2006 at 12:18 pmSorry Doodle Bug, his brand of christiandom does not follow the pope. In fact they despise him. Afterall they have Falwell.
July 15th, 2006 at 12:23 pmI don’t know about all of you but I would like to see a new thread and a picture of something else…This guy looks like a little rat and don’t think much of his ideas either……Blessings
July 15th, 2006 at 12:27 pmWhat if we made it a personal choice? We allow the research, if miracles of medicine do immerge, well then, then those who believe this is the devil’s work can chose not to apply the science to their bodies. Do you want to set odds who will be the first in line for the cures? God will determine if stem cell research, same sex marriage, and other secular issues are wrong when the time for the judgement day is here. We don’t need the evangelical right judging everyone’s life and tell us how to live. Make it a matter of personal choice and personal judgement.
July 15th, 2006 at 12:29 pm#16
“Science is just the Democrats way of distorting the living breathing Word of God.”
Yeah, speaking of living and breathing, it the right believe that CO2 is “Life” them fill a room with CO2 and let them “live” in it.
#25
“Could somebody give this guy a mirror? Why would anyone TRY to make their hair and moustache look SO fake?”
Because in actuality, this twisted “scientist” was a woman, who got a sex change. Look closely, very Mann Coulter-esc. So Prentice carries that same Log Cabin baggage of daddy approval like Mann Coulter.
Also, he has a weally bad upper lip.
Where is Seixion in all of this?????
July 15th, 2006 at 12:43 pm29 – excellent. That’s a prime example of why the founding fathers wanted to separate church and State. But what we are seeing is a rise in authoritarianism which seeks to inflict a theocracy on the United States.
July 15th, 2006 at 12:44 pm29 & 30
July 15th, 2006 at 1:02 pmAmen
Why stop at stem cell research? Let’s suggest they boycott all modern medicine and technology in general including invitro-fertilization. After all, if it’s God’s will that you be barren, who are you to override that?
July 15th, 2006 at 1:15 pmOne egregious example of Prentice’s fabrications, at least to people like me with Parkinson’s, is his use of the Dennis Turner experiment. Turner’s PD has returned with a vengeance, he told me so on 4-24-06, but is still on that ASC cures list. CURRENTLY THERE ARE NO ADULT STEM CELL TREATMENTS FOR PARKINSON’S DISEASE!!
We need all kinds of stem cell research and there is no moral/ethical dilemma because microscopic undifferentiated cells are not people.
July 15th, 2006 at 1:17 pmI scratched around a little on Dr. Prentice and blogged on the same at Captain Jimi with Wingnut Welfare Stem Cell “Research” Challenged. He’s far too busy to vacation … or trim the handlebar it would appear. Peace … or War!
July 15th, 2006 at 1:43 pm(the improved version 2.0) = unbelievable.
July 15th, 2006 at 2:10 pmNew Truism:
Republican Right = Science Wrong
“…Science?!? It’s all God’s WILL, you, you, you… Liberal!!!!!!!”
… sarcasm off….
July 15th, 2006 at 2:58 pmHey! in case anyone missed it!
That god-fearing patriot from Crooks and Liars has come up with a living will for stem cell research. I hope it catches on. Greater love hath no man than he lay down the life of his family for that of a gooey collection of protoplasm.
Stem Cell Research Living Will>
Be sure to spread the WORD!!!
July 15th, 2006 at 3:00 pmThe guy in the picture looks like a candidate for an “Enzyte” commercial.
July 15th, 2006 at 3:25 pmIs that his real hair?
July 15th, 2006 at 5:13 pmwhat about the hairy lip thing, it looks like a sloppy ‘photoshop’ job…………….
He’s way to smiley to really know anything other than how to make up crap………….
troll alert = paranoid nut job who lies about me.
July 15th, 2006 at 5:20 pmNice picture of Steve Buscemi up there. What’s with the mustache though? Did he get the lead in the Johnny “the Wad” Holmes biopic?
July 15th, 2006 at 10:55 pmLet’s call the Republicans the Distortors. It seems like that is all they are doing these days. They must have a full time staff working on distorting everything truthful that is coming out.
July 15th, 2006 at 11:51 pmNot to mock this clown’s appearance but he really does need to change the oil in his hair. I guess he figures the dork look makes him appear more scholarly.
July 16th, 2006 at 1:51 amIronically in this case though, he’s (Frist) for stem cell research.
It seems that nobody on the right is competent (regardless of their background or training) to objectively discuss scientific matters.
Comment by Pete
If my memory is correct, Frist was previously with the President in being against stem cell research; before that he was for it. His position seems to be evolving. Oh, no, I’m sorry: the GOP doesn’t believe in evolution.
July 16th, 2006 at 5:11 am[...] Expert Cited By Embryonic Stem Cell Opponents Grossly Distorts …Think Progress, DC - 20 hours ago… For example, a study cited by Prentice as evidence that adult stem cells can help patients with testicular cancer is in fact a study that evaluates methods … [...]
July 16th, 2006 at 6:17 amWhat is the common method of disposal for those ‘Human Starter Kits’, that have been deemed superfluous by their ‘manufacturers’? Do they flush them, like dead goldfish? Toss the ‘contents’ of the petrie dish down the garbage disposal? Just scoop them into a trash can, then take them to the dumpster? Incinerate them? Have ‘funerals’, complete with ‘viewing’, and the standard organ music piped over the speakers, and weeping mourners in the pews? Those who are opposed to stem cell research, based on the ’sanctity of life’ position they hold so self-righteously close to themselves, but shove in everyone else’s face, should have no objection to being implanted with these no longer needed ’starts’, and carry them to term, and either give them up for adoption, or raise them, themselves. All females deemed to be of ‘child bearing age’, only physically, not mentally, as “right-to lifer’s” do not care about that, giving birth is ALL that matters, even in cases of rape or incest, or the potential danger to a woman’s health. Just details, it is all about the “innocent life”, right up till it is born. After that, hey, you are on your own. Christian men should be willing to sacrifice their wives and daughters for this noble cause, God will reward them all, once they get to Heaven. Or not. If they won’t take full responsibility for forcing others to live by THEIR rules, then they have no basis for objecting to what others might choose. Would they refuse an organ donation, if they needed it, to stay alive, because some person would have to die in order for them to be saved? I have a feeling that they wouldn’t be so quick to turn it down, because of their moral belief system. “Honey, I would rather die a slow, painful death, than be helped by getting something that someone else had to die to make possible.” Yeah, right. Righties will ’strip’ the Dead for ‘parts’ (business is BOOMING!), but refuse to ‘destroy’ a microscopic collection of cells, because that would be ‘murder’? How about if we said we were ‘bringing freedom and democracy’ to the cells, before we ‘killed’ them? We have good intentions, after all. And by maybe someday curing diseases, their ’sacrifices’ for freedom, will not have been in vain. Researchers will ’stay the course’, until disease no longer exists to threaten our safety, healthwise. What a great idea! Gosh I am so clever! I have solved the debate on stem cell research! (snort, snicker)Sigh…
July 16th, 2006 at 7:20 amNever mind that embryonic stem cell research has produced ZERO treatments for patients. Talk about deception! And if you want to talk about which side is lying, try reading: Biotech Group Sends Misleading Stem Cell Research Comments to Media . Of course, Prentice isn’t the only person who knows that embryonic stem cell research isn’t the only hope for patients.
July 16th, 2006 at 12:35 pm[...] Check it out. [...]
July 16th, 2006 at 10:19 pmIt comes as no surprise that a proponent of embryonic stem cell research and human cloning, Dr. William Neaves, wrote a letter criticizing Dr. David Prentice, a former biology professor at Indiana State University, for saying that the published literature shows 65 diseases in humans have been treated with adult stem cells. What’s more disheartening, the journal Science published it without giving Dr. Prentice a chance to respond, a usual practice for scientific journals. Even worse, Science does not disclose Dr. Neaves’s expenditure of $10 million to advance Missouri’s ballot initiative advancing embryonic stem cell research and human cloning. In the hit piece, Dr. Neaves falsely accuses Dr. Prentice of claiming that adult stem cells are being regularly used as FDA-approved treatments in the United States. While some treatments have been FDA approved others listed by Dr. Prentice, such as Parkinson’s and spinal cord injury, occurred overseas and would not involve the FDA. In fact Prentice has advocated that the FDA move forward to approve more therapies for use and wants more funding for adult stem cell research to make therapies more available and to move forward with more human trials.One wonders based on his own criteria, how Dr. Neaves knows embryonic stem cells from cloned embryos are going to treat people, when not a single disease has been treated by this method in any trial. The good news is that the list is now at 72 diseases that have been treated in humans with adult stem cells. For more on this, see http://www.lifenews.com/bio1630.html.
July 18th, 2006 at 11:16 am[...] Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) is leading the opposition to the H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. On Saturday, the Washington Post reported that Brownback had been using a deceptive and false report by the conservative Family Research Council to argue that research on embryonic stem cells was unnecessary. [...]
July 18th, 2006 at 12:56 pm[...] So is this anti-stem cell research “scientist” who is now paid by the right-wing “Family Research Council” (a conservative Christian group that opposes medical and scientific research on a vaccination for HPV, thinks homosexuality is a disease and opposes laws against hate crimes) well respected in the field of stem cell research? No. Not at all, in fact. His fellow scientists (real scientists, no quotes this time) have no respect for him whatsoever, and got together to write a letter to a prominent industry journal denouncing the claims that the Family Research Council pays him to make, and saying they “mislead laypeople and cruelly deceive patients.” “Prentice not only misrepresents existing adult stem cell treatments but also frequently distorts the nature and content of the references he cites” [...]
August 3rd, 2006 at 9:28 pm