Stem Cell Breakthrough Likened to Turning Lead into Gold

By Bob Ellis on December 27th, 2007

It was the kind of breakthrough scientists had dreamed of for decades and its promise to help cure disease appears to be fast on the way to being realized.
Researchers in November announced they were able to turn the clock back on skin cells and transform them into stem cells, the mutable building blocks of organs and tissues.
Then just earlier this month a different team announced it had cured sickle cell anemia in mice using stem cells derived from adult mouse skin.
“This is truly the Holy Grail: To be able to take a few cells from a patient — say a cheek swab or few skin cells — and turn them into stem cells in the laboratory,” said Robert Lanza, a stem cell pioneer at Advanced Cell Technology.
“This work represents a tremendous scientific milestone – the biological equivalent of the Wright Brothers’ first airplane,” he told AFP.
“It’s bit like learning how to turn lead into gold.”

Amazingly, there remain some who STILL insist in destroying human life in embryonic stem cell research–even after this breakthrough, and even after the numerous adult stem cell treatments that have ALREADY helped people.

I knew there were many adult stem cell successes, but had never actually counted them. Well, the Family Research Council has done so, and it turns out the adult stem cell successes to embryonic stem cell successes is a little, um, lopsided:

Let’s end our embrace of the culture of death, and choose life. It’s not only more ethical, it’s more productive!

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