Stem cell injections could be the key to curing MS

DEMOCRAT OBAMA REPEALED REPUBLICAN BUSH's BAN ON STEMCELL RESEARCH December 5, 2023 – Welcome to Freethink Weekly, a curated collection of new stories focusing on the smartest people, the biggest ideas, and the most ground breaking technology. Learn more about our additional newsletters here! A key ingredient to medical discoveries is often a good dose of chance. Centuries ago, you would have been lucky to discover the diuretic properties of the herb Daucus carota, but fatally unlucky to pluck an identical-looking plant: the extremely poisonous water hemlock. Modern medicine has better safeguards against such mistakes, yet there’s still room for serendipitous surprises: Drugs like aspirin, viagra, and minoxidil were each originally formulated to address specific health issues, yet they ultimately proved beneficial in completely unexpected ways. On deck this week are stories of two such surprises: how one of the most commonly used anesthetics may help kill cancer and a cholesterol drug that could lead to new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. Enjoy! — Stephen Johnson A MUST READ Stem cell injections could be the key to curing MS A long-elusive cure for multiple sclerosis (MS) may be within reach. That’s the outlook from leading researchers exploring several new treatment strategies for the chronic autoimmune disorder, which affects about 1.8 million people worldwide. From vaccines to stem cell injections to modulating the gut microbiome, the approaches vary but the objective is the same: find a way to stop the immune system from attacking the central nervous system. Learn more.