Joint winner of this year's Nobel prize for medicine is John Gurdon, who was once told by his science teacher that his ambition to be a scientist was a waste of time. Some students succeed because of encouragement from a teacher; others succeed because they seek to prove the teacher wrong. The work done by this researcher and the co-winner of the prize means that stem cells can be created from regular skin cells. It was only a few years ago that some tried to ban stem cell research because it needed cells from a human embryo. With these advances, stem cells can be produced in other ways. I love stories like this, because they can so encourage the struggling student. Those who are different or who think outside the mainstream are often the most brilliant; they just don't know it. Now whose child was it that was throwing toys at the ceiling to see how long they would stick?
Thanks for sharing that. It's exciting to see stem cells being made in a responsible manner! This story reminds me of the story, (don't know how accurate it is) that Thomas Edison was sent home from school at age 9 with a note that said, "Please do not send him back, he is slow and unteachable."
The older I get, the more I realize that you don't really know a person or their potential just by knowing them for a short time or witnessing some of their failures. My son struggles with some subjects, but I don't think it is a lifetime problem. I actually think most of it is a confidence problem. He is great with learning difficult things that he wants to learn. I know he can learn other things also.
