Stem Cell Research Breakthrough Means That Human Embryos Don’t Need To Be Used.

“The controversy surrounding stem cell research might soon be moot, with new research showing that ordinary skin cells can be transformed into an equivalent of embryonic stem cells, which have been the focus of research because of their ability to become any kind of cell in the human body.” (“One step closer to Embryo-Free (and controversy free) stem cells.” Discover Magazine, March 2, 2009. blogs.discovermagazine.com)

Researchers in Canada and Britain have successfully transformed ordinary skin cells into a form that can be used to create any other kind of cell in the human body.

To get some sense of what this breakthrough might mean, let’s imagine what standard medical practice might look like in 2030. You sign up for an ongoing program of cell replacement and regeneration. Every six months, you get a test that shows what part of your body is damaged or breaking down. Then you go through a treatment that replaces bad cells with new cells. Any propensity for disease is immediately stopped in its tracks.
In fact, every time you go through testing and treatment, you get healthier and younger.

Dan Sullivan, founder of Strategic Coach, describes the first time he did the Lifetime Extender exercise with a particular client 15 years ago. The client talked to me at the next workshop break, saying, “This is a great thinking exercise, but as a doctor, I can tell you quite frankly there will never be a way of stopping or reversing aging. No one’s going to be living into their 120s or beyond.”

Last November, Sullivan continues, we revisited The Lifetime Extender in his workshop. He said this to all of the other clients: “When Dan introduced this exercise, I was the most skeptical person in the room. But I know dozens of people involved in genetic research, and now I’m a believer. What they are telling me is that if you can just stay healthy and fit for the next twenty years, scientific miracles will be waiting to support you on the other side.”

This breakthrough in Canada and Britain will certainly be seen as one of those miracles.

What is disappointing to me is the noticeable absence of U.S. leadership in this most significant breakthrough.