The Great Stem Cell Divide

Stanford physician Michael Lyons, MD, is not a stem cell researcher. But when the Connecticut House Speaker recently called him to discuss her "cautious, maybe even negative, feelings" about a state bill that would endorse embryonic stem cell research, the Stanford genetics fellow was happy to oblige. The state lawmaker felt uneasy about portions of the bill, so Lyons patiently defined complex scientific terms, clarified the differences between this type of research and reproductive cloning, and outlined what he saw as the merits of the work.

By the end of the conversation he had convinced his mom that she should support the legislation.

Lyons and his mother, Speaker Moira Lyons, are just two of many to dive into the debate surrounding stem cells, undeveloped cells that can be coaxed into growing into any kind of tissue. Stem cells are so small that they can't be seen with the naked eye, yet they tend to cause mass confusion and evoke the largest of responses. In fact, Moira Lyons blames the bill's eventual failure to pass in the Connecticut House on legislators'...