Even The Op-Ed Page Never Heard Of Adult Stem Cells

Endricrinologist David Shaywitz writes an Op-Ed today, Stem Cell Hype and Hope, which asks for patience and rigorous research standards in a field recently damaged by the fraud of Hwang Woo Suk. But just like in the news pages, embryonic stem cell research is assumed to be the only game in town:

Meanwhile, stem cell research itself trudged ahead slowly, for all the usual reasons -- as well as some unique ones. Scientific research is notoriously difficult, and progress typically incremental; human embryonic stem cells also happen to be intrinsically difficult to grow. Moreover, government restrictions severely hampered the ability of researchers to pursue the best science and discouraged many bright young investigators from entering the field.

Good science usually does trudge along slowly, and one reason adult stem-cell technology is much further advanced is that it's been trudging for a lot longer. Not that you'd know from Shaywitz. Later:

The good news is that underneath all this mess, stellar science really is happening. Stem cells have proved even more captivating than we could have imagined, and understanding the process by which a stem cell progressively differentiates into a specialized cell such as a neuron or a pancreas beta cell is perhaps the most compelling biology question for our generation. Stem cells have sparked our interest for good reason.

But we're not going to figure out how they work overnight; it will take a very long time and require our best minds, as well as our collective effort (and, ideally, our collective dollars). Translating this knowledge into clinically meaningful applications is certain to take even longer and present still more challenges -- yet it should be achievable.

Don Ho thinks it's achievable right now:

Honolulu

-- Legendary Hawaiian crooner Don Ho says he could barely walk, let alone sing, and would have been a "goner" without an experimental stem-cell procedure on his ailing heart earlier this month in Thailand.

Ho, known for his signature tune Tiny Bubbles, said he hopes to return to the stage soon.

"I'm feeling terrific, 100 per cent better," Ho said in one of his first interviews since his surgery on Dec. 6. "I'm ready to go, but I've got to listen to the doctors."

The 75-year-old singer underwent a new treatment that hasn't been approved in the U.S. It involves multiplying stem cells taken from his blood and injecting them into his heart in hopes of strengthening it. The experimental procedure was developed by TheraVitae Co., which has offices in Thailand and labs in Israel, where Ho's stem cells were sent to be multiplied.

The biggest drawback? It's based on boring adult stem cells. So it's not splashed all over the front pages of the Post. Or any pages, as far as I can tell.