Promising news in the generation of insulin-secreting beta cells of the pancreas from stem cells that may replace the cells damaged in Type I (or insulin-dependent) diabetics.

The generation of insulin-secreting beta cells from ES cells has not been easy (review) but these and other recent results indicate it's just a matter of tweaking the system. I think it would be easier to generate the cells via embryoid body aggregation and subsequent purification of beta-cells via a selection gene or sorting process.

Either way, the prospect of progress in generating a cure for diabetes from ES cells is far more likely than Parkinson's or Alzheimer's cures, simply because this idea we're going to shove ES cells or their progeny into the brain and create anything but more of a mess seems unlikely. I wish advocates for ES cell research would focus more on Type I (also called Juvenile or insulin-dependent) diabetes simply because it's something that shows promise for being the easiest disorder to cure with these cells (except maybe some hematologic disorders). Significant progress towards a real cure would likely lead to more public acceptance of the technology, or at the very least, would make the vocal minority of critics shut up. After all, the pancreas is not that complicated an organ, and the beta cells don't even necessarily have to be placed inside the pancreas, all they would need is access to some blood supply and they could act as a cellular insulin pump, monitoring the blood sugar and releasing insulin as needed.