Research roadblocks and political debates have delayed progress—but scientists are inching closer to delivering a cure.
Twenty-five years ago, in 1998, researchers in Wisconsin isolated powerful stem cells from human embryos. It was a fundamental breakthrough for biology, since these cells are the starting point for human bodies and have the capacity to turn into any other type of cell—heart cells, neurons, you name it.
National Geographic would later summarize the incredible promise: “the dream is to launch a medical revolution in which ailing organs and tissues might be repaired” with living replacements. It was the dawn of a new era. A holy grail. Pick your favorite cliché—they all got… More.
The isolation of embryonic stem cells in 1998 was a fundamental breakthrough for biology. But despite high hopes new medical treatments based on those stem cells haven’t materialized.
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