The creators of the X Prize are pondering a new competition for cutting-edge scientists working in the stem cell field.
"[The winner would be] the first team to be able to create a lung, liver, or heart from the stem cell of a patient who is terminal, have that new organ transplanted into the patient and have them live for a year," says X Prize chairman and CEO Peter Diamandis, in an interview with CNET.
The organizers of the X Prize say they plan to meet soon to see how they should follow up their current slate of challenges, which reward teams able to make groundbreaking advances. The X Prize is offering a $10 million reward to the first team that can sequence 100 genomes in 10 days, helping to drive a revolution in genetics research. And now they want to consider if they can spur more rapid advances in stem cell work.
Most scientists in the field, though, have frequently cautioned people to remember that any radical new advances regarding the development of new organs is likely years away from becoming a reality.
- here's the Diamandis Q&A with CNET