is adult stem cell really better than embryonic scientifically?

[tony]

If you take the moral dilemma outside of embryonic stem cell vs. adult stem cell, is one really better than the other scientifically speaking.

I have been doing a lot of research on stem cell, and one think I seems to always come across is article stating adult stem cell are better than embryonic stem cell. I'm looking for confirmation on these claims from a real credible source.

First there is a claim that adult stem cell have successfully treated 65 diseases and illness.

Second, a lot of people are saying that adult stem cell have will produce real result, whereas embryonic have a lot of promise, but it hasn't produce any real break through over the years. Some have say that embryonic stem cell research has been legalized in many countries outside the U.S. and they still hasn't made any real progress

Some have say that adult stem cell have head start in development, some sources dated adult stem cell research back to the 1940. What is the correct years when adult stem cell research begin?

If adult stem cell have the potential to cure so many disease, and adult stem cell was once embryonic stem cell, doesn't it follow that embryonic stem cell have as much potential as adult stem cell.

Again, I understand that adult stem cell is may be more favorable because it doesn't involve destroying a embryo. But please attempt to take this fact out of consideration, and just answer if scientifically speaking, adult stem cell are better\worse\the same as embryonic stem cell.

[danfive]

Stem cell questions on this forum are usually very stupid, but yours is the exception.

The key difference between adult stem cell and embryonic stem cell is not its origin, but its potential. Stem cell literally means that it is a pluripotent cell capable of taking on a role of a number of specialized cells in the body.
The embryonic stem cell has the most potential because it is truly pluripotent and can be used to create any human cell.
On the other hand the adult stem cell is limited--you will need heart stem cells to generate cardiac muscle; or a better example, from a researcher down the hall from me, you can take adult stem cells from the pulp of teeth and recreate jaws and teeth from them (this is only mouse research so far).

[danfive]

I forgot to say that since there is a lot of research into adult stem cells (and cloning from adult cells), it may become possible to control the adult stem cell into becoming more pluripotent, or more like the embryonic stem cell.

[danfive]

Furthermore, I believe that Occam's razor is important in science and the simplest solution is the best solution. That is if the embryonic stem cell has greater advantages to a given application, than that cell should be chosen.