October 04, 2004

I Played a Republican on TV

Terry linked to a picture of Michael J. Fox and John Kerry, which reminds me of something I heard on NPR this morning. I'm quoting from memory, but Morning Edition's quick blurb about the town hall meeting included something along these lines, "Fox, who played a young Reagan Republican in the 1980s, now has Parkinson's Disease and supports stem cell research."

Family Ties was a fun show to watch, but I don't recall ever thinking that just because Alex P. Keaton was a Republican that Michael J. Fox was -- any more than I thought he really travelled back in time when the flux capacitor in his car hit 1.21 gigawatts. Apparently playing a Republican gives him credentials though, from which he has "grown" now that he's older, wiser and sick. I wish Fox the best of luck in his fight against Parkinson's, although I don't support his support of stem cell research, but I think NPR could have written their blurb better.

Comments

"...NPR could have written their blurb better."

Asking an awful lot out of them, aren't you?

Posted by: Terry Oglesby at October 4, 2004 04:23 PM

I do have such high standards, don't I? Sigh...

Posted by: Jordana at October 4, 2004 04:28 PM

"1.21 Gigawatts!!!"

Classic

Posted by: skinnydan at October 5, 2004 08:47 AM

I wish Fox the best in his fight against Parkinson's, although I don't support his support of stem cell research.,

With all due respect, it's difficult to do both at once with any sincerity.

Some recommended reading:


Small Molecules that Induce Cardiomyogenesis in Embryonic Stem Cells
Wu, X.; Ding, S.; Ding, Q.; Gray, N. S.; Schultz, P. G.;
J. Am. Chem. Soc.; (Communication); 2004; 126(6); 1590-1591.

Dopamine neurons derived from embryonic stem cells function in an animal model of Parkinson's disease Jong-Hoon Kim, Jonathan M Auerbach, Jose A Rodriguez-Gomez, Ivan Velasco, et al. Nature. London: Jul 4, 2002.Vol.418, Iss. 6893; pg. 50

Embryonic stem cells develop into functional dopaminergic neurons after transplantation in a Parkinson rat model. Lars M Bjorklund, Rosario Sanchez-Pernaute, Sangmi Chung, Therese Andersson, et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Washington: Feb 19, 2002.Vol.99, Iss. 4; pg. 2344

Functional Recovery Following Spinal Cord Injury in the Rat and Mouse
M.A. Lane 1 , K. Sharp 2 , K.M. Dziegielewska 1 , O. Steward 2 and N.R. Saunders 3
1 Pathology, and 3 Anatomy & Physiology, University of Tasmania, GPO Box 252-29, Hobart. Reeve-Irvine Research Center, University of California Irvine, CA, 92697-4292


Incidetally, embryonic stem cells are already an integral part of the in vitro fertilization process, used to help infertile couples conceive.

Posted by: A at October 6, 2004 02:05 AM

There is some research in adult stem cells and their possibilities. But one way or another, using a method that requires killing a human life, no matter how small and defenseless that life was, is never going to be something I support, even if that means a cure is never found for certain diseases.

Posted by: Jordana at October 6, 2004 04:32 PM