| The human body is a marvel of biological machinery. Consider the stem cell, that shapeshifting wonder that can develop into any number of specialized tissues. For a couple of decades now, scientists have been working to harness the power of stem cells for healing and regeneration. But the frontiers of medicine are by definition ambiguous and fraught with uncertainty. And that's where sometimes-shady entrepreneurs can often be found right alongside more legitimate clinicians. This week on Backchannel, writer Lindsay Gellman investigates the explosive growth of US stem cell clinics, which often promise miracle cures and dramatic treatments that have little basis in legitimate medicine. Regulation has been spotty, and dozens of stem cell clinics have proliferated. In the wrong hands, these treatments can be disastrous. So-called adverse events have included acute bacterial infection of the spine, pulmonary embolism, blindness, stroke, cardiac arrest, and even death. Perhaps inevitably, stem cell entrepreneurs have taken up the banner of the health freedom movement, aligning with a grab bag of anti-vaxxers, libertarians, right-wing talk-radio personalities, and hydroxychloroquine promoters. In the US, questions of the body and the body politic can make strange bedfellows. Mark Robinson | Features Editor, WIRED |
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