Now that I've disgorged a lengthy explanation of my position on stem cell research, I can say, in my most somber and statemanlike fashion "Nya! Nya! I told you so!" by pointing out the most recent wonderful developments from stem cell research, all from adult stem cells. (And no, I'm not conveniently excluding advancements from embryonic cells, I just haven't seen any lately.)

Repairing Cornea from Oral Cells

BBC News reports that Japanese scientists have found a way to convert oral stem cells to corneal tissue, and eliminate problems with rejection. Read it and [don't] weep.

Hope for Diabetics

Monday, ScienceDaily News reported: "In a finding that may open a new avenue to treating diabetes, researchers show that cells from the bone marrow give rise to insulin-producing cells in the pancreas of mice. These morphed cells actually produce the hormone insulin in response to glucose and display other characteristics demonstrating that they truly function as pancreas cells, according to a new study by researchers from NYU School of Medicine."

Shot Through the Heart

... with a nail gun! Two youths were fooling around, and somebody ended up with a nail in their chest. Normally, the only alternative would have been death or a heart transplant, but doctors used bone marrow stem cells from Dimitri Bonnville's own blood to repair damaged cardial tissue in a revolutionary proceedure.

Marrow Tissue Becomes Neurons in Brain

The National Academy of Sciences reports: "Adult bone marrow stem cells seem to differentiate into muscle, skin, liver, lung, and neuronal cells in rodents and have been shown to regenerate myocardium, hepatocytes, and skin and gastrointestinal epithelium in humans... We conclude that adult human bone marrow cells can enter the brain and generate neurons just as rodent cells do."