[trenton1776]

Until I am proved wrong, I'll continue to look at stem cell research as another over-hyped and under-performing medical "miracle". There's a giant stampede right now to spend lots of money on research, but like all these things over the years, we'll likely see little benefit.

Year after year, medical charities grab barrels of cash in promotions like "walk for the cure". Well, folks have walked for many years. Where the darn cure? I used to donate to Jerry Lewis until I suddenly realized that his claim for a cure was "right around the corner" never came about.

Quick now - name 3 diseases that have been cured by literally trillions of dollars of medical spending over the last 20 years. Other than better surgical techniques, what medical cures have really occurred in a long time? The last major medical miracle with the development of antibiotics (which was an accident done by a single researcher)early last century. Before that, it was vaccinations in the 1800s. These advances really made a gigantic difference to the human population by actually curing or preventing disease.

Though we are constantly promised cures, they never come. Stem Cells are just the latest promised miracle. I wish them good luck in spending their research funds, but don't hold your breath for any real breakthrough.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Most medical research results in improved rates of curing disease, rather that 100% cures -- just like antibiotics. And even more importantly, research has made a lot of deadly conditions preventable. For starters, colon cancer. Curing it once it's beyond the early stages is still difficult, but it is now 100% preventable, if you can be bothered to go in for a simple scoping every few years. Spina bifida (and the more severe neural tube defects, such as anencephaly) are now almost entirely preventable. While a few women seem to have some unusual defect which allows these devastating conditions to develop even when they have ample folic acid intake, the vast majority of cases have become preventable -- first by taking a simple vitamin pill daily, BEFORE becoming pregnant, and now, for the women who don't have their acts together enough to manage even that, folic acid has fairly recently started to be added to common foods, so that even a woman living on Twinkies and potatp chips is now getting plenty of folic acid. Another prevention on the horizon is cervical cancer, over 99% of which is caused by the endemic human papilloma virus (HPV). An HPV vaccine is already in human trials, and having tremendous success.

Medical research has produced amazing progress in length and quality of life, especially for people who can be bothered to take advantage of the simple preventive and screening measures that are now available. It's silly to imagine that one day we'll open up the newspaper and see a headline proclaiming "The Cure for Cancer has been Found!", notwithstanding the simplistic scenarios suggested by fundraising hucksters like Jerry Lewis. It doesn't work that way; it works incrementally, but still improves and saves hundreds of millions of lives.

[Coleus]

Embryonic stem cells have cured 0 people and have proven to cure 0 diseases, as a matter of fact, those cells have killed people in the past after being implanted in patients' brains.

Adult stem cell use has been in effect for 30 years, treated millions and have cured many diseases. It's ethical, safe and effective.

[WVNan]

Finding cures goes against the self-interests of the researchers and doctors. Why would they want to put themselves and their multi-billion dollar "health care" empire out of work? I have zero trust or confidence in the medical field from research to care. (But that's just me)