I would like to write a letter to the editor in response to the letter titled Proposal 2 surrounded by hype, voters need facts (SN 10/6). First of all, aside from what progress has been made or hasn’t been made, why is government getting involved in science? Congress should stay within its own field of expertise, which is not research. It is ridiculous that we have Congress dictating the direction of research and where funding should go in an attempt to win more votes.
A prime example of Congress getting involved in the interest of votes is the use of mammography. There is very little evidence supporting the use of mammography as a screening tool, yet there are mounds of evidence supporting how worthless and how cost-inefficient it is. Congress forced the National Institutes of Health to change its recommendations on screening due to outrage from female voters. I hate to break it to you, women, but mammograms are a huge waste of everyone’s time and money. Inefficient is not a strong enough word to explain how much health care costs are needlessly wasted on them.
That being said, I would also like to point out that intense stem cell research has only been going on for the past 20 years. It was almost 400 years from the time bacteria were first discovered until a true antibiotic capable of effectively killing bacteria was developed. This type of research is not something that is going to be developed overnight. The level of knowledge required to fully harness the abilities of stem cells will probably not be well-developed until most of us are dead. However, the research is going to take time and money if we want to get there some day.
Most of this griping about stem cells is being done by religious nuts. We have religion, which is made up of insane beliefs at the very core, dictating the way evidence-based knowledge is supposed to be developed. You have people using an illogical thought process putting up road blocks for those learning more science through a logical thought process. The bottom line: Science and religion do not mix. I would also venture to add that science and government do not mix.
I find it amazing how many people are all about saving the environment and reducing greenhouse gases — even though there is no concrete scientific evidence connecting human behavior to changes in climate — yet they only want to fund research if it gives them answers here and now. After all, who cares about future generations?
Steve Schauer
third-year medical student
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