Did You See The Stem Cell Universe Feature Starring Stephen Hawking?

Stem cells were the stars of the night on the Science Channel last night.  The network debuted the highly anticipated ‘Stem Cell Universe,’ starring Stephen Hawking and executive produced by Morgan Freeman through his company, Revelations Entertainment.

The Science Channel has an ongoing relationship with Hawking, having previously aired the television film ‘Hawking’ based on the early life of the award winning physicist.  Hawking based much of his career around studying the theories of the universe, but is now exploring a smaller universe that lies within each human being – made up collectively by our own unique stem cells.

Within the show, Hawking is joined by many researchers who are on the verge of making breakthroughs in stem cell therapy.  Dr. Doris Taylor is testing the validity of using stem cells to improve heart transplants; Dr. Paul Lu and Dr. Mark Tuszynski consider stem cells to be a helpful source of therapy for paralysis; and Dr. Vincent Giampapa, who believes the aging process could be stalled using stem cell therapy.

Hawking supports the theory that stem cells derived from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, or even embryos could be a significant medical breakthrough for the world at large.  The goal of scientists is to present their therapeutic research academically to provide theoretical facts in a very contentious debate across North America.

Morgan Freeman supports the research by Hawking and fellow scientists.  In an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Freeman confirmed he agrees with the research presented on the show, stating that stem cells could one day be “the next best thing in medicine.”