Stem Cell Watch IV

Stem cell discoveries are starting to hit close to home for me. The Times of London reports here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article1637528.ece that diabetics have been able to stop taking insulin after undergoing treatment with stem cells harvested from their own blood. That gives a whole new meaning to the saying, "Physician, heal thyself!" Now, it's more like, "Patient, heal thyself." The developers estimate that it will be five to eight years before this treatment is available to the public for use by Type 1 diabetics like my wife, but this news is extremely encouraging.
The Times article, of course, puts in a few blistering words, bashing President Bush for opposing the destruction of human embryos, but, like all other treatments using stem cells, this advance employs adult stem cells. I do not know the precise score of treatments that have been developed, but it stands close to this:
Adult stem cells: >100
Embryonic stem cells: 0
Bear in mind that with last year's bill, Congress did not ban embryonic stem cell research. Anyone in the private realm who thinks embryonic stem cells furnish all of the cures to all known diseases (as Arlen Specter has said they do) may sponsor funding for them at any time. Congress prohibited the spending of public funds on embryonic stem cell research; nothing more and nothing less than that. Cheers for another great medical advance!