A few weekends ago, I came across an old issue of Time magazine from 2006 devoted to stem cell research. In the lead story, Larry Goldstein, a researcher at the University of California at San Diego complains about the politics of his lab. Certain items can be used for government-related work, while others cannot:
Each machine, cell dish, chemical and pretty much every major tool bears a colored dot, signaling to lab workers whether they can use the item for experiments that the government won’t pay for. Goldstein’s team is working on a cancer experiment that relies on a $200,000 piece of equipment. They can use either an approved cell line that will yield a less reliable result or a freshly created line that would require the purchase of another machine with private funds. “It’s a ball and chain,” Goldstein says. “It’s goofy. Imagine if your kitchen was a mixture like that, where you can’t use those pots with that soup.” (MORE)
Funny, Larry, I can imagine a kitchen where I can’t use those pots with that soup.
