Next he'll hold his breath 'til he turns blue

MIT faculty member won't eat until he gets tenure.

James Sherley, a biological engineer whose opposition to embryonic stem cell research has been controversial among his peers, charges he has been denied the same freedom to challenge scientific orthodoxy afforded his white colleagues.

MIT expressed concern for Sherley's safety but said his case was rigorously reviewed and the decision to deny him tenure was fair. Twenty Biological Engineering department faculty signed a statement saying they believed race did not play a role in the decision.

Sherley, who has vowed to stand in protest outside the president and provost office for three hours each morning, says he believes the research is immoral because it requires the destruction of days-old embryos. He works only with adult stem cells.