Stem cell research has been marred by the injection of politics into the field because of opposition to use of embryonic stem cells in research. Embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos, as the name implies, and can turn into any other type of cell. They're essentially a blank slate that researchers can use in any part of the body. Because of political, religious, and moral opposition to their use for fear of encouraging abortions, there has been a lot of misinformation and distortion, and many people equate all stem cell research with embryonic stem cells.

However, the sort of stem cells used by Aastrom are not culled from embryos but rather from adults. Yet adult stem cells are somewhat more limited; they can generally be used only in the organ in which they are found. And whereas stem cells are unspecialized, progenitor cells have already begun the path toward specialization. In its study, Aastrom collected the cells from the adult patient's hip and reproduced them using its proprietary technology. They are able to turn into different types of tissue, such as blood, bone, and cartilage, among others.

While stem cell research has the potential to become a Rule Breaker technology, it is indeed an unproven, high-risk science. Companies such as Aastrom Biosciences, StemCells Inc. (Nasdaq: STEM), and Geron Corp. (Nasdaq: GERN) are among a group of fewer than 100 companies worldwide engaged in the field of stem cell research. Yet finding one that is profitable is as complicated as the science behind them because it is still an emerging field.