Scientists have a history of altering the trajectory of mankind.
I remember sitting on a Missouri front porch while my father told me of his youth, back in the days before the great Jonas Salk eradicated polio.
“We stayed home from school,” my dad said. “The swimming pools and libraries were empty.”
It is a well-known story that Dr. Salk didn’t patent his vaccine. His goal was to save lives — kids’ lives.
He said, “You might as well patent the sun.”
It was a simpler time.
About 15 years ago, there was something called the Human Genome Project, which mapped the entirety of human DNA. At the time, this was about as big as it gets for biological science.
Many companies such as Celera, Human Genome, and Medarex went up many thousands of percent based on the promise of patenting DNA. Affymetrix alone went from $5.25 to $342.36 in just a few years.
Right now, the third wave of bioscience is upon us, and it goes by the name of “stem cell.”
Just look at these recent headlines:
“Cloning used to make stem cells from adult humans” —CNN
“Stem Cells May Repair ‘Irreversible’ Heart Damage” —Forbes
“Stem Cells To Power Your Sperm” —Yahoo News
The list goes on and on.
The amount of money being thrown at stem cell research these days is more than $3 billion a year. It is projected to be a $50 billion industry.
But because the biotech market just crashed, many of these stocks are trading at levels not seen in over a year.
Why Now?
Most people have heard of stem cells but don’t really know what they are. It’s simple: As you remember from eighth grade science class, cells are the smallest part of living organisms. Stem cells are unique in that they have the ability to divide infinitely into specialized units.
Think of them as the building blocks of life that can be constructed into any body part like brain, muscle, or cardiac cells.
Perhaps you remember the story of scientists growing human ears on the backs of pigs, or a man in China growing a nose on his forehead.
Recently, studies have suggested that you can inject stem cells into your heart to repair damage after a heart attack.
Past Controversy
You may remember about 10 years ago when G.W. Bush announced a moratorium on stem cell research in the United States.
The Pope came out and said the Catholic Church was against it because at the time, stem cells were taken from human embryos (embryonic stem cells). This is where they are most common — dividing and growing millions of times to become a human being.
Obviously, harvesting body parts from the unborn to keep old people alive raises all sorts of moral problems.
But now, Technology and Opportunity has found a company the Vatican not only believes in but has actually become an investor in.
The company harvests adult stem cells, called somatic stem cells. The problem so far is that they don’t divide in quite the same way as embryonic, and they aren’t blank slates, but they do hold tremendous potential for heart attack sufferers, among others.
The discovery of adult stem cells was made 2006. After eight years, the science is reaching a critical juncture. Just this year, we’ve seen a major leap forward.
Scientists have been able to clone embryos to make the stem cells match perfectly to a specific person. The process allows for patients of any age to have their cells cloned.
Another study that just came out shows that human stem cells have regrown damaged cells in monkey hearts. The damaged hearts were injected with human cardiac stem cells, and there was up to 40% regeneration of dead tissue over three months. The hearts were even able to produce electromechanical function.
And according to the BBC, a billionaire in the Bahamas claims stems cells are making him younger.
Look for the next issue of Technology and Opportunity coming soon, and we’ll tell you all about the stem cell company the Pope bought. If you’re not a member, join now for less than a cheap pair of sneakers.
All the best,
Christian DeHaemer
Check us out on YouTube!Christian is the founder of Bull and Bust Report and an editor at Energy and Capital. For more on Christian, see his editor’s page.
