[Stem cell research] is now considered among the most seminal medical findings of the past century, on a par with the discovery of the double-helical structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick.]

Stem cells not only revolutionized the treatment of cancer, but laid the foundations for regenerative medicine, and fueled the emergence of a biomedical industry, particularly in Canada.

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While most modern medicine, from drugs to surgery, is designed to treat symptoms, stem cells can actually cure disease.

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There is also promising – but early – research suggesting that stem-cell therapy may be able to cure diabetes, blindness and even spinal-cord injury. Most of this work is being done in thousands of clinical trials around the world.

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Critics, however, argue that there has been far more hype than treatments that are effective and affordable in the real world.

[James Price, president and CEO of the Canadian Stem Cell Foundation] said that is true to an extent. “There is a lot of hype because the potential is enormous. Science takes time but, in the stem-cell field, we’re making steady progress.”

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