Economist: stem cells and cancer...

The Economist reviews some fascinating research by Dr. Sanford Barksky at Ohio State University regarding the connection between stem cells and cancer.

DOCTORS track the long-term health of organ-transplant patients in registries.  Such registries make it possible to uncover  trends or long-term problems in the population that may be missed in smaller samples.  But they can also be pressed into service to support basic research.  And a group of researchers led by Sanford Barsky of Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus has done just that.  As they reported on June 2nd to a meeting of the American Society of Clinical  Oncology, in Chicago, they have used one such registry to support the increasingly popular  idea that many if not all  cancers are caused by stem cells gone bad.

This is excellent; of course understanding the root causes of cancers is a great way to discover new treatments...