Stem Cell Research

Everywhere you look these days, stem cell research is making the news, whether it’s a story about new links between stem cells and cancer, projects involving stem cell cloning, or the ongoing and heated debate on the ethics of working with embryonic tissues. Stem cells are portrayed as a mysterious untapped source of enormous potential for therapies, or even cures, to all kinds of diseases. If even a fraction of that potential turns out to have some substance, it could mean major improvements to quality of life for millions of people.

In early 2006, the stem cell research took a serious blow with the confession of Dr. Huang Woo Suk, Seoul National University, South Korea, that his highly publicized major breakthroughs, and claims to have cloned patient-specific stem cells, were false. Now, one year later, the industry is showing signs of recovery. Watch my section on Stem Cell Research, for case studies on companies that are turning the tide of stem cell research once again, and using this momentum to develop flourishing research programs.