Stem Cells: 10 Diseases They May—or May Not—Cure

Embryonic stem cell research is poised to expand. Could an array of treatments or cures come next?

March 13, 2009 RSS Feed Print

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Irina Elcheva, an employee of WiCell Research Institute, Inc. prepares stem cells for culture at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center at University Wisconsin-Madison March 10, 2009 in Madison, Wisconsin. On March 9, 2009 President Barack Obama signed an order reversing the Bush administration's limits on human embryonic stem cell research.

9. Sickle cell anemia. Stem cell researchers are exploring ways to correct numerous blood disorders, including sickle cell anemia. Mice have been cured of the sometimes-deadly condition after receiving transfusions of stem cells made from their own skin cells.

10. Organ failure. What better way to ease the shortage of organs for transplantation than to grow new ones? That's what some scientists think, and with stem cells, that vision may become more than a pipe dream. Last year, researchers grew a beating rat heart in the lab with the help of heart cells from newborn rats, preliminary proof of the concept.