Scientists Turn Embryonic Stem Cells Into Germ Cells (the Precursors of Sperm and Eggs)
The work did not create sperm or eggs, but the advance will allow researchers to observe human germ cells in laboratory dishes, something they otherwise haven’t been able to do. “Ten to 15 percent of couples are infertile,” said senior author Renee Reijo Pera of Stanford University. “About half of these cases are due to an inability to make eggs or sperm. And yet deleting or increasing the expression of genes in the womb to understand why is both impossible and unethical. Figuring out the genetic ‘recipe’ needed to develop human germ cells in the laboratory will give us the tools we need to trace what’s going wrong for these people.” (LiveScience)

Spiritual Leaders Talk Economics and Regulation
In September, the Archbishop of Canterbury told the BBC that “economics is too important to be left to economists.” It turns out that the Church of England thought differently. It makes one wonder what other spiritual leaders have said about the secular downturn. (The Globe and Mail)

Reality TV Star Jon Gosselin Says He’s Consulting With a Rabbi to Reconnect With His Religious Roots
In a statement, the 32-year-old father of eight (who has said he’s “half Jewish and half Korean”) tells Usmagazine.com: “I have endeavored of late to reconnect with my deeper, more spiritual, more altruistic self with regular study sessions and counseling with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, whose morality-centered-and-values-based advice, coupled with his profound commitment to fatherhood and family, I deeply respect.”

BOOKS
Satan in America
Ten questions for W. Scott Poole on Satan in America: The Devil We Know. (Religion Dispatches)