To finish up the course, we will focus on the important ethical and policy challenges raised by stem cell technology and genome editing. A panel of three bioethics experts, Dr. Robert Klitzman, Josephine Johnston, and Beth Roxland, will discuss some of the controversies surrounding stem cell research. They will answer a variety of questions including, what is so controversial about stem cells? Are all kinds of stem cells controversial? And finally, what are the ethical issues surrounding genome editing and cloning? This course has covered the history of stem cells and some of the cutting edge research going on today. The last 20 years have been the most exciting years in the history of stem cells. First in 1998, we had a successful isolation of human embryonic stem cells. Then in 2007, we had a successful reprogramming of adult skin cells allowing us to create custom made stem cells for anyone who might need them. Scientists around the world are now researching how these cells might be used for disease modeling and cell transplantation. But, what about the future? How will stem cells transfer medicine in the next 10 years? I predict a few things. First, we will see many more clinical trials in a dish. Scientists will continue to use stem cells as a cheap way to test thousands of different compounds, only the most promising treatments will proceed to animal and human clinical trials. In this regard, there are still some technical challenges. For example, the stem cell we have now are fetal-like cells but adult cells may behave differently. Scientists will have to figure out how to age the cells in a culture dish in order to test how mature cells would react to different drugs. Second, we will see more stem cell therapies for the replacement of tissues and organs. Two key challenges in this area are: first, rejection of transplanted cells by the patient's immune system, and second, cellular abnormalities or overgrowth from the transplantation. Whatever the future holds, stem cells will transform the face of medicine as we know it. We hope that you now have a better understanding of the science and the tools to evaluate the potential benefits and risk of new therapies. On behalf of American Museum of Natural History, thank you for your participation in the science of stem cells.