Last week a team of scientists successfully grafted a windpipe fabricated from a woman’s own stem cells. This is big news if you have diabetes.
For years researchers have made promising strides in treating diabetes, and those in the field are constantly extolling the virtues of their studies, promising a cure within our lifetime. But being told a cure is around the corner is no solace for someone who is living daily with the disease. Though because of the progress made recently and advances in stem cell research lurking around the corner, I think our fantasy $5 billion will really be used well in this field. Some mandates can wait, others cannot.
Obama says he’ll reverse a bunch of the dumb-shit Bush laws. Thank god. Bush's veto of expanding stem cell research based on religious convictions is costing lives. Treating this disease now and in early stages in a person’s life is a good preventative measure, both for the spleen and for the economy. After all, managing and fighting this disease is costing Americans over $200 billion annually.
If you live in New York, you’ll find couched next to ‘benefits of sleep’ stories in the paper too often an "everyone is getting diabetes" story. In New York, one in eight adults have the disease and the rate of new cases is increasing. These are staggering numbers. If we threw some cash at this problem and lifted the ban on embryonic stem cell research, we could actually make a difference.
Huh. Now that I’ve spent my fantasy money, I feel sort of... sad. I miss it, I suppose. I feel like I want to throw it at a million other issues, but there are rules to this fantasy. No hard feelings, sustainable energy.
-- Jonah H. Green
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