Michael Dobbs of the Washington Post writes that Harvard President Lawrence Summers wants to make the University "'ground zero for a scientific revolution' based on stem cell research." Ironically, the longer the White House limits federal funding for research utilizing stem cells derived from human embryos, the more grandiose claims about its promise seem to become.
I suppose anytime a potential therapy remains undeveloped, this invites all sorts of speculation, especially if access is tightly controlled and patients feel they are being denied a potential treatment. Stem cell-based therapies have been hailed as a potential “cure” for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, stroke, spinal cord injury, ALS, MS, heart disease, and juvenile diabetes, among other conditions.
Another interesting angle on this topic is the extent to which stem cell research is being characterized in the political arena
as a means of job creation.
Of course, I’d be thrilled to see a major breakthrough on any of these fronts, and if stem cell research leads to good treatments for half these ailments it truly would be revolutionary. In the meantime, I can’t help but wonder how much revolutionary glamour this line of research would have garnered if the ban had not been imposed.