Over the next few decades, the new field of "regenerative medicine" promises to fundamentally alter the way diseases, especially those affected by the aging process, are approached and treated. Regenerative medicine involves research on ways to renew the body's tissues using natural signals, such as genes and proteins. According to William Haseltine, CEO and chair of Human Genome Sciences, Inc., the incredible strides that biomedical research has made over the past 30 years will be dwarfed by the coming regenerative medicine "revolution." The Human Genome Project, a collaborative effort to sequence the entire length of human DNA, will provide reams of data to scientists and spur their progress.

Critics of aging research are missing the point.

Congress is trying to repair a 35-year-old shortcoming in the nation's most important health care program for seniors. If they succeed, people on Medicare will have help paying for prescription drugs. It may be the most important action that members of Congress take before they fold their tents and leave Washington this fall.