The Price Of Hype: The Public Now Has Unrealistic Timelines For Science

Untitled Document A decade ago there was a culture war surrounding human embryonic stem cells - people assumed it was a science issue, though in hindsight it was mostly politics. hESCS had never been funded by the federal government and the ethical and legal implications were unclear so President Bush compromised and limited federal funding to existing lines. Though the NIH was thrilled they could now pursue it for the first time (1), his political opposition claimed science was "banned". If you watched "The West Wing" back then, you were assured Parkinson's Disease would be cured by 2014 if Republicans got out of the way. 

Small wonder that today, six years after President Obama lifted the 'ban' by slightly modifying the number of stem cell lines that could be used (2), the public wants to know where all those breakthroughs are.  They are not wrong for feeling jaded. Even prior to 2009, human embryonic stem cell research had not been hindered - it was new when Bush approved it and states and corporations could continue to do whatever they...