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Frankenstein
may already be in the laboratory
London, April
11th, 2005 ( ACPress.net).
A report by an
influential group of British MPs recommends that the UK authorises
the implantation of human embryos in animals. The Science and
Technology Committee of the House of Lords also proposes the
cloning of human embryos for therapeutic reasons.
Their reasoning is that faced with the choice of destroying
the embryo, they consider that observing its development within
a living organism rather than a test tube will offer some clues
as to the causes of infertility and miscarriages. Embryos are
an important, though not the only, source of stem cells, and
offer a way of working which will not only produce scientific
advance, but also considerable financial gain. The Committee
also proposes that parents may choose the sex of their child
for “social reasons”, and it recommends the cloning of human
embryos for medical reasons.
The report comes to the conclusion that chemical experiments
whereby genetic material from animals and humans is mixed could
produce valuable results in the future. As to the fate of embryos,
apart from the question of animal welfare, it does not see why
this kind of experiment should be less acceptable than throwing
the embryo in the waste bin, which is probably the most likely
alternative.
Experiments designed to create human hybrids are moving forward
fast, and Irving Weissman, a molecular biologist at Stanford>
University in the USA, has injected cells from a human brain
into mouse foetuses, thus creating a new kind of rodent which
is 1% human. His aim is to ‘produce’ mice with brains which
would be 100% human, at least from a genetic point of view.
Scientists believe that the more human genes they can put into
laboratory animals, the easier it will be to develop new drugs,
and organs for transplants.
The British Committee goes even further and suggests giving
scientists freedom to modify human embryos genetically so as
to allow couples to create ‘designer babies’, and in some cases,
choose the sex of their children. According to the report, which
was leaked to a Sunday newspaper, the Committee does not consider
this dangerous either for the individuals concerned, nor for
society at large. However, allowing people to choose the sex
of their child is a matter of great discussion. The genetic
selection of the sex of an embryo is contemplated in pathologies
related to a sexual chromosome, such as haemophilia. Yet many
parents still believe they should be able to choose the sex
of their child.
A large proportion of the British public does not share the
conclusions of the Committee however. A study carried out by
the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Agency in November 2003,
found that 80% were against using the technique to select gender,
and believed that current legislation on the issue should be
maintained.
Source: EFE. Editing: ACPress.net
Narnia goes from strength to strength
London, April
13th, 2005 ( ACPress.net).
Translated into
18 languages and read by more than 85 million people, the marvellous
world created by the Protestant writer C.S.Lewis in his 7-book
‘Chronicles of Narnia’ series continues to captivate. The books,
which seek to present the Christian truth to children (and perhaps
adults with a childlike heart), are being re-published in Spanish.
Destino Publishers have so far brought out the first three volumes,
two more are due out next month, and the final two in October.
The ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ won the most prestigious children’s
book award, the Carnegie Prize. A television series was made
of the books some time ago, but the most popular of the seven,
‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’, is due to be taken to
the big screen by film-maker Andrew Adamson, who directed the
film ‘Shrek’.
Lewis offered an allegory of the Christian faith, which he shared,
in the books and its central character, the lion Aslan, is a
clear symbol of Jesus Christ, the Lion of Judah. Such parallelism
runs throughout the books. The film, to be made by Disney and
Walden Media, is due out in December. The special effects will
be provided by the team who worked with Peter Jackson on ‘The
Lord of the Rings.’ C.S.Lewis and J.R.R.Tolkien were great friends
as well as being of two of the most ingenious and popular novelists
of the 20th century.
Lewis was brought up in Protestantism in Ulster, while Tolkien
was Catholic. When they met, Lewis had not yet become a Christian,
but he tells in his autobiography how one day he had a personal
encounter with Jesus Christ, and the faith of his parents became
his own, a faith he kept until his death in 1963, despite going
through such trials as the death from cancer of his wife. The
story of this is told in the film ‘Shadowlands’.
Source: EFE. Editing: ACPress.net
The pope considered
more important than the Gospel
Rome, April
13th, 2005 ( ACPress.net).
The pope’s death
took clear precedence over the preaching of the Word of God.
Italian television cancelled, without warning, an evangelical
service due to be broadcast on the radio, because of John Paul
II’s demise. A spokesman for the Italian Evangelical Alliance
spoke of their “extreme uneasiness that they were not able to
proclaim the Gospel.”
On Sunday April 3rd, the state radio station was to broadcast
an evangelical programme at 7.30am.
The Press agency of the Italian Federation of Evangelical Churches
(FCEI), which makes the programme, says it has not received
any information from the radio station about the cancellation.
It adds that it is particularly upset because the programme,
which has an audience of 1.4 million people, was keenly anticipated
because of the emotion caused by the death of the pope. It would
have been a golden opportunity to preach the Gospel to great
effect.
This is the first time that the radio programme, which has been
broadcasting for 40 years and is a historic institution within
Italian evangelicalism, has been cancelled.
Source: NEV. Editing: ACPress.net
70th
anniversary of Hitler’s arrest of 500 pastors
Munich, April 13th, 2005 ( ACPress.net).
The 70th anniversary
of the arrest of 500 Protestant pastors by Hitler has been commemorated
in Germany.
Their ‘crime’ was to read a statement from their pulpits criticising
the repressive policies of Hitler’s regime. They were arrested
by the police and Gestapo units. One of the organisers of the
anniversary event said: “These men were very brave and paid
a heavy price for raising a prophetic voice.”
Source: Rapidísimas. Editing: ACPress.net
Watch out Rome, the
Protestants are coming!
Mexico City, April 13th, 2005( ACPress.net).
While the proportion
of the Mexican population that claims to be Catholic fell from
96% in 1970 to 87.8% in 2000, evangelical numbers grew from
1.8% to 7.3% in the same period.
It may be a tad too soon to start proclaiming Mexico a Protestant
country, but nobody can doubt the spectacular growth of the
Evangelical Church there over the last 30 years. The National
Institute of Statistics, Geography and Computing (INEGI) considers
that a majority of Mexicans are clearly still Catholic, but
says much of this is due to the historical presence and dominance
of the Catholic Church in the country since the colonial period.
However, the INEGI recognises that other religions have caught
the attention of the population in the last 30 years, particularly
the Evangelical or Protestant Churches.
Source: NOTIMEX. Editing: ACPress.net
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