NEW YORK, NY August 26, 2009 —Stem cells have been in the news for years – both for their biological promise and their political baggage. President Bush banned research on new embryonic stem cell lines eight years ago.

President Obama overturned the ban this year, and funding is on the rise for medical research into these cells. WNYC’s Fred Mogul has increasingly been hearing about another kind of stem cells, and he has this report.