Wired map

Wired magazine has an "Atlas" section in each month's issue. This consists of a map of some sort (sometimes based on a photo, sometimes on the whole world, sometimes on a specific location) and a set of accompanying facts. The June 2006 Atlas is titled "Where the Cells Are" and it shows a map of all the countries of the world. There are varying colors that indicate a category of national stem cell policies ranging from no official policy to a blanket prohibition on human embryo research. There is also a series of points that show the location of stem cell lines world wide. I like the way this map shows two different pieces of information about the same topic in the same map. The projection of the map seems to address many of the concerns we discussed in class last week, for example Africa is large and Greenland is small. Size is particularly important in a map that illustrates national policies. It is significant to see large geographic areas that have no official policy on an issue of global interest.