LIFE DIGEST: Embryonic stem cell pioneer says cures likely decades away - (BP)

LIFE DIGEST: Embryonic stem cell
pioneer says cures likely decades away - (BP): "LAKE DELTON, Wis. (BP)--The scientist whose group took part in groundbreaking embryonic stem cell research in 1998 says cures using embryonic stem cells are likely decades away.

University of Wisconsin scientist James Thomson made the comments during a speech Feb. 8 in Lake Delton, Wis., to the Wisconsin Newspaper Association's annual convention, the Associated Press reported. In 1998, Thomson's team became the first group to grow human embryonic stem cells in culture, sparking a controversy over the use of embryos in stem cell research that continues to this day."


While Dr. Thomson is correct in not building false hopes for immediate cures, others will use this statement as justification for not doing embryonic stem cell research. Embryonic stem cell research will reveal key points about human development. It will probably be a key information provider for regenerative medicine and for the development of targets for drug research. If no cures ever came from ESC research, we would still need to do it.