Vatican City. A Vatican official on Saturday criticized a new method of making stem cells that does not require the destruction of embryos, calling it a "manipulation" that did not address the church's ethical concerns.

 

Monsignor Elio Sgreccia, the Vatican's top official on bioethical questions, said in an interview with Vatican Radio that the method of making stem cells devised by scientists at Advanced Cell Technology Inc. in Alameda, Calif., remains an in-vitro form of reproduction, which the church opposes.

 

"That, from a point of view that is not only Catholic, but from a point of view of bioethic reasons, is a negative factor," said Sgreccia, who heads the Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life.

 

Church teaching holds that in-vitro fertilization is morally wrong because it replaces the conjugal union between husband and wife and often results in the destruction of embryos. Artificial insemination for married couples is allowable if it "facilitates" the sex act but does not replace it. The church condemns all forms of experimentation on human embryos.

 

Advanced Cell's method "doesn't solve the ethical problems," Sgreccia said.

 

The new method — described online Wednesday in the British journal Nature — works by taking an embryo at a very early stage of development and removing a single cell, which could then spawn an embryonic stem cell line. With only one cell removed, the rest of the embryo retains its full potential for development.

 

Read more at The Washington Post . . .

 

 

Kansas City, Missouri, USA. The Rev. Jerry Falwell said he opposes stem cell research even though it shows great medical promise.

 

Falwell said on Tuesday that medical research must pass a test in three-parts: "Is it ethically correct?" "Is it biblically correct?" "Is it morally correct?"

 

Rev. Falwell went on to say that stem cell research does not pass the "smell test." Rev. Falwell bases his opposition on a belief that life begins at conception and humans must not interrupt embryonic development. Falwell said he sympathized with those whose conditions could possibly be helped by stem cell research.

 

 

Glasgow, Scotland. Simon de Voil is a "Funny Kinda Guy" in real life, and in a documentary by Travis Reeves.

 

The film chronicles the transition of a Scottish songwriter, guitar-player, and singer with a lovely alto voice. Simon also happens to be a female-to-male transsexual.

 

 

Simon's loss of his female voice is central to the film's depiction of his SRS experience. He gives up one of his greatest joys and assets in exchange for self-actualization.

 

After surgery, Simon works hard to locate his singing voice, one that aligns with his testosterone base and still-vibrant vocal chords.

 

 

You can find more details on the Funny Kinda Guy film site and review the IMDB production credits.