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Before we begin, allow me to give you a primer on stem cells and how we've gotten to the point we're at today.

Life begins as one cell (The egg) and quickly explodes into billions of cells - all differentiated for specific functions. Stem cells are the template cells that allow for the creation of a wide variety of cells that are necessary in the body. They become specific types of cells by being subjected to chemical enzymes. There are several types of stem cells. What you hear about are adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells. Adult stem cells can come from several locations including bone marrow, blood, and even the brain. However, these cells are usually pretty specialized. They can normally only used to create a few different types of cells within the body (termed pluripotent). Conversely, embryonic stem cells are still very generalized and can lead to the creation of nearly any type of cell (termed totipotent). Why this is the case and how adult stem cells even arise are still issues that are being researched. But the fact is with our current knowledge+technology embryonic stem cells offer the greatest hope for discovering cures since they are virtually limitless in their abilities.

Stem cells were discovered nearly 50 years ago. However, they were not able to be isolated applied to treating human diseases until 1998. Originally there was no federal money available for research in this field. In 2001 George Bush and his cabinet laid down the original laws for embryonic stem cell research. It allowed for federal funding on stem cell lines that were produced before the law but not on new ones. He considered this to be a compromise on the issue since he was ethically "against destroying life" but understood the medical promise of the cells.

Fast foward to now - academic research has been slow by modern standards due to the difficulty of obtaining funding for stem cell projects. Slow academic gains = slow private gains. The academic community must establish the basics before the private sector jumps in. Due to this, there have been little gains in treatments for currently uncurable diseases by the technology that was rumored to be the cure all a decade ago. So congress decided the current stem cell rules needed to be adjusted. They proposed that federal funding be made available to researchers working on new embryonic stem cell lines. These new lines are far more useful than original lines as technology has greatly improved in the past 6 years thanks to information gained. Congress contends that these new lines could greatly accelerate medical progress and treat increasingly distressing diseases such as parkinsons, alzheimers, and diabetes. The bill was easily passed but not by the 66% needed to overcome a presidential veto. GW Bush promptly vetoed the bill citing ethical concerns. He cited improved ability to harvest adult stem cells as well as the discovery of new sources of adult cells as reasons to avoid using embryonic cells. As you shall see when reading about these picks, there is some truth to this statement.

Still, the general belief is that Bush's concern over the destruction of life is short sighted since only donated embryos will be used for the creation of new lines. Thus, no life will be destroyed. This has put the issue at the forefront of debate and made it a strong topic for presidential candidates. Presumably the next president will side with Congress and the American People in general (numbers indicate ~75% approve the bill) and sign the bill into law. This will usher in the stem cell age. I will be looking at companies that are best positioned to make you money if/when this law is passed.

It should be noted that none of these companies are cash producing machines. At this point in time the costs of research are too high and the ability to get a stem cell treatment onto the market is too low to make profits. If you want "safer" picks I suggest looking at large companies like DNA/AMGN/GENZ, or the companies that these guys contract with to market their product.

One more note - I am suggesting that you buy any of these at this point in time. Simply be aware of them and consider them as the stem cell debate moves foward. I believe these companies will eventually be those that are affected the greatest.

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