More Tidbits on Eggan and the MacArthur...and a CIRM IP Note

Kevin Eggan thought it was a prank. His father, Larry, said he thought Kevin was too young for the award.

On the other hand, the elder Eggan said of the $500,000 MacArthur Foundation prize won by his son "we're hoping he takes us out to dinner," according to his hometown newspaper in Illinois, The Pantagraph.

The younger Eggan, who is a Harvard stem cell scientist and a member of the Standards Working Group of the California stem cell agency, said:

"I think the most important thing to me about this is the message that the MacArthur Foundation is sending. This points to the mainstream importance of embryonic stem cell research."

The announcement of the winners also contained an interesting sidelight on one of discussions at CIRM regarding intellectual property and providing access to therapies for the uninsured.

Some members of the CIRM IP Task Force bridle at such requirements, noting that some persons choose to go without health insurance.

One of the other MacArthur recipients, David Carroll, and his family have not had health insurance for some time. Carroll, of Warner, N.H., is a wetlands advocate whose most recent book is ``Self Portrait with Turtles: A memoir."

Reporter Gareth Cook wrote in the Boston Globe:

"Carroll has lived most of his life as a freelance writer and illustrator. He and his wife, who is also an artist, have raised three children and constantly struggled financially. For three decades, he said, he and his family have gone without health insurance."