00.30—05.00
The degenerative diseases that afflict hundreds of millions world-wide, and the ageing process that affects every single human being. Tom Riley, whose life changed overnight when he had a stroke that left him unable to speak or write, a volunteer for the world’s first experiment in human brain regeneration.

05.00—10.00
Stem cells — the foundation of a system within embryos, that can create any kind of organ or tissue — a system which may lie dormant in all human beings. The scientists who believe that it may be possible to switch the system back on even in adult life. Cells, from a patient who died of testicular cancer, were used as a source of a line of stem cells in research studies. The Sheffield scientist who has found a way of turning these tumour cells into nerve cells.

10.00—18.30
The successful experiment in which some of these transformed cells were transferred into rats that had suffered an induced stroke, restoring both cognitive and motor functions, and revealing that there appears to be a dormant repair system in the body. The need to convince the US Food and Drug Administration before trials with humans could start.

18.30—23.30
A description of the operation used to implant stem cells into a research volunteer’s brain. Criticism by other academics of the use of cancer-derived cells. The key issue of whether or not the cells have lost their cancer-causing potential.

23.30—29.30
An alternative approach involving removal of actively dividing cells from the brain, culturing them and transplanting them in much larger quantities back into the same part of the brain. The problems faced by patients involved in the stem cell trials, and the use of brain imaging techniques to discover if there is brain activity where there was none before.

29.30—35.00
The promise of huge profits as a driving force for research into stem cells. The wealth of disease targets — not just the brain but almost any part of the body that is diseased or degenerating. The hunt for cells that can be patented — the discoverer owns the characteristics and can develop methods for isolating and using the cell that no one else can use.

35.00—39.00
The key aim of stem cell research is to tailor cells to the specific issue being treated. The need to find ways of stimulating stem cells to turn into the required type of cell. A stem cell cure for diabetes as a commercially tempting target with huge potential profits for the company.

39.00—end
The twin engines that drive research forward: corporate profit and improvement of individual quality of life. The problems of ‘who pays?’ and ‘who can get the treatment?’ as unavoidable social, political and scientific issues.