Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
WHO
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Neurona Therapeutics, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
WHEN
5 years
A quarter of a century ago, researchers isolated powerful stem cells from embryos created through in vitro fertilization. These cells, theoretically capable of turning into any tissue in the human body, promised a medical revolution. Think: replacement parts for whatever ails you.
But stem cell science it didn’t go smoothly. Not at first. Although scientists soon learned to create these factory cells without embryos, coaxing them to become truly functional adult tissue proved more difficult than anyone had imagined.
Now, however, stem cells they are finally on the verge of fulfillment. Take the case of Justin Graves, a man with debilitating epilepsy who received a transplant of lab-made neurons, designed to quell the electrical failures in his brain that cause seizures.
Since the procedure, performed in 2023 at the University of California, San Diego, Graves has reported having seizures about once a week, instead of once a day as before. “It was an incredible, complete change,” he says. “Now I’m almost a stem cell evangelist.”
