Stem cells to produce synthetic blood

British scientists are starting a project that promises to have human beings receiving injections of infection-free synthetic blood within 3 years. The goal is to find embryonic stem cells of type "O" which can be used for any other blood type and encourage them to grow into mature, oxygen-carrying blood cells in unlimited amounts.

Imagine a day when there are no more crises that require people to go and donate blood. When every operation or accident can be handled without fear of infection from donated blood. Imagine that blood carrying our marvelous nitric oxide happily along to its many tasks.

It seems we are gradually discovering the millions of miracles that make up life as we know it. And one day not so far in the future our children will look back on these times of radical surgeries and brutal chemotherapy and other drug treatments as primitive indeed.

Stem cells: sorting out diamonds from gold

The power of stem cells has been among the most rewarding discoveries of our time. Now scientists are beginning learn how to truly harness and direct that power. In a study with mice, they've been able to harvest stem cells that specifically relate to muscle formation and use them to regrow muscles mice lost as a result of a shortage of a substance such as humans are missing with Muscular Dystrophy.

They found that using undifferentiated stem cells (that could develop into just anything), they ended up causing tumors to grow. But now by using fluorescent dyes they're finding ways to pick out and harvest just the cells that will only grow into muscles. This is like saying they could pick out from a huge crowd only the people with blue eyes and black hair who are wearing red vests.

To be totally unscientific, WOW. They regrew muscles and improved coordination. What person suffering from a debilitating disease won't be jumping out of her skin praying for them to get going on this one?

What person suffering from any of a host of diseases won't be praying really hard that they can perfect this technique immediately? Let us all join those people in prayer, for we never know when our turn may come to enjoy life longer and/or more fully because of the miracle of stem cell science.