- Sep 16, 2003
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Michael Flynn brings up a good point: what happened to all those stories about stem cells?
You may recall that in the early-to-mid-2000's one of the big debates was about the use of embryonic stem cells. These were hyped as an inevitable cure for nearly every disease, with those who opposed their use (since getting them required slaughtering unborn children) were painted as troglodytes who opposed scientific progress. Induced pluripotent stem cells, which are obtained from adults without any loss of life, were either not mentioned at all or were mocked as unworkable or at least less effective than embryonic stem cells. The fact that embryonic stem cells were often rejected while induced pluriopotent stem cells would not be (since they are created from the patient's own cells) was absolutely not reported on.
Since that time there have been great advances in the use of induced pluripotent stem cells, with the 2012 Nobel Prize for Medicine being awarded to the doctors who made them workable in treatment. But not much has come out of the use of embryonic stem cells, and in some cases have led to cancer. And now we do not hear about stem cells in the news any more. It's a curious thing, isn't it?
You may recall that in the early-to-mid-2000's one of the big debates was about the use of embryonic stem cells. These were hyped as an inevitable cure for nearly every disease, with those who opposed their use (since getting them required slaughtering unborn children) were painted as troglodytes who opposed scientific progress. Induced pluripotent stem cells, which are obtained from adults without any loss of life, were either not mentioned at all or were mocked as unworkable or at least less effective than embryonic stem cells. The fact that embryonic stem cells were often rejected while induced pluriopotent stem cells would not be (since they are created from the patient's own cells) was absolutely not reported on.
Since that time there have been great advances in the use of induced pluripotent stem cells, with the 2012 Nobel Prize for Medicine being awarded to the doctors who made them workable in treatment. But not much has come out of the use of embryonic stem cells, and in some cases have led to cancer. And now we do not hear about stem cells in the news any more. It's a curious thing, isn't it?