Despite President Obama’s thumbs-up to embryonic stem cell (ESC) research last week, the day when stem-cell cures become available is receding further and further over the horizon. A few years ago, some scientists were rashly promising 5 to 10 years, which then became 20 years, and then 25 years. Now, one of the leading American supporters of ESC research, Harvard researcher George C. Daley, says that it could take "the better part of this century". "It took much of the 20th century to figure out how to deliver chemicals as drugs," Daley told AP. "We should be humble and appreciate it may take us the better part of this century to truly harness the power of cells as medicines." ~ AP, Mar 17