Stem Cell Research
On Saturday, I attended the annual meeting of the University of Minnesota Alumni Association in Naples, FL. Every year the University brings some of the brightest and best researchers to report on their technology. The keynote speaker was Dr. John Wagner, Professor of Pediatrics, Director of the Division of Hematology-Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Co-Director of the Center for Translational Medicine, School of Medicine. As a pediatrician, Dr. Wagner has specialized in debilitating diseases of children. His work with adult stem cells has produced spectacular results in curing Leukemia and some other diseases that I can't pronounce. He then turned his efforts to diseases that are either incurable or existing treatments are inadequate. He showed pictures of children with these diseases that were revolting. Conventional treatment would call for strong chemotherapy, which would destroy the immune system, then bone marrow transplant to rebuild the immune system - ofte...