Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty.... Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:8, 11)

I'm writing this month's column looking out over the Black Hills of South Dakota. What a gorgeous site! Rolling hills, beautiful pines, and even Mount Rushmore a few miles away.

When Nathaniel Jeanson graduated from high school, he hadn't yet thought about becoming a doctor and researcher in one of the most cutting edge and controversial fields in medicine today: stem cells.

"I knew that I didn't like insects or blood, but I liked science," he said in a recent phone interview.

In July, President Barack Obama announced his intention to appoint Dr. Francis Collins to lead the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH),¹ which funds over $30 billion in scientific research aimed at preventing disease and improving health. A respected physician, researcher, and administrator, Dr. Collins previously led the vital work of the Human Genome Project.

After 100 years, automobiles still need engine oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, antifreeze, power-steering fluid, and so on. Wouldn't it be great if just a single multipurpose fluid could be circulated from a central reservoir? Each part would use only the needed properties of the fluid, exclude detrimental properties, and then send it back.