Introduction

A few years ago, I considered starting a blog about the intersection of faith and science. In particular, I wanted to blog about issues in biology from a Catholic perspective -- but then I discovered someone was already doing that and the whole idea seemed rather redundant.

So, why am I starting this blog now? Mostly, because a couple of friends convinced me it would be a good idea. I've decided to call it "Double-Stranded" because I'm a geneticist by education, but also because I'm strongly interested in the complementarity of faith and reason, of science and theology.

Since my involvement in the conversation about the ethics of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) research (and in particular, my frustration with the scientific inaccuracies that were being spread through the Catholic blogosphere -- based, I believe, on a lack of familiarity with basic biological technique) was what led to the suggestion that I blog, I'll begin with a series explaining what exactly stem cells are, where they come from (both the ethical and unethical sources -- you may be surprised!) how iPSCs are made, and why it's important that Catholics make the effort to understand the details of biological research.

As for what I'll do after that, I guess you'll just have to check back and find out.