And yet despite the huge potential for stem cells that ranges from spinal cord injuries to Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's, the debate still very much rages as to the ethical implications of their use. A good deal of this controversy comes from the fact that there are two main types of stem cells used. Adult stem cells which are extracted from for example bone marrow, and embryonic stem cells which are found in developing human embryo's between 4 and 7 days following fertilisation. Embryos from which embryonic stem cells are extracted are destroyed in the process. So it raises the same questions as abortion and the right to life debate i.e. at what stage does an embryonic cell structure have rights? (If at all). If you believe that conception is the point at which life begins then you will inevitably take issue with embryonic stem cell research because you may conclude that it is no different from abortion. The issue is complicated further by the fact that to date embryonic stem cells have shown more ability to develop into other tissue types than adult stem cells.

In August 2002 President Bush said about stem cell research that the US Government would not fund projects that used new embryonic stem cells, though the US Government would fund research on 60 existing embryonic stem cell lines that had already been developed. He also announced $250 million of federal funding into research on umbilical cord placenta, adult and animal stem cells which he felt did not involve the same moral dilemmas. John Kerry's take on the stem cell issue is to lift the ban on federal funding of research on new embryonic stem cell lines, which he believes are holding the US back from becoming a world leader in stem cell research.

Credit George Street Journal Christopher Reeve

Meanwhile the momentum in other countries is growing to allow embryonic stem cell research. France approved a new bioethics law in August 2004 that allows human embryonic stem cell research for the next 5 years as long as the research is directed towards the development of treatments for serious disease. And the House of Lords in the UK has ruled that stem cells can be used under licence for medical research in the UK. (They have published an in depth report on the issue which you can read here.)

Just in the last couple of weeks there have been new announcements that place stem cell research at the heart of finding cures and treatments for birth defects and heart disease, eye repair, psoriasis and skin disorders and strokes. And this is only the beginning of an exciting journey. This week a genuine Superman passed away, but the work that he chose to highlight goes on.

Copyright - Stuart Brown