BusinessWeek has does a good job covering the current state of regenerative medicine -- the catchall term for the fields of gene therapy, stem cell research, protein-based drugs, etc. Regenerative medicine is about accessing and exploiting the body's natural regenerative abilities -- but taking it to the extremes. Giving the body the ability to grow replacement parts for organs such as the heart and brain. It's not that far fetched. It's already being done in nature, in newts and the like, as well as in humans to a certain extent -- you lose some skin, your body can regrow it. Unlike the newts however, humans can't regrow a leg, or intestine, or spine, or eyes -- not yet anyway. The science is at its infancy, with many paths being explored across the world -- however, in North America, especially the US, Big Pharma is being stymied by the government that's bending to pressure from religious groups that see such science as unethical -- meanwhile, millions die every year.
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