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CHAPTER 1 Stem Cells 101 For five decades, Jack Nicklaus (born in 1940) was hailed as a golfing legend. During his 25 years as a professional, the Golden Bear, as he was called, won 18 major championships, 19 second places, and 9 third places. After his retirement, he began designing golf courses and devel- oping other golf products. However, his admirers did not know that the Golden Bear suffered from chronic back pain from the time he was a teenager, causing him to miss several important golf tournaments. He had tried everything to help this pain, including cortisone injections and a back operation. In April 2018, several news sources, including CNN and Golf Maga- zine , reported that he had undergone a „secret‰ operation for his pain. This operation was stem cell therapy. In December 2015 at a birthday party, Nicklaus met Dr. Eckhard Alt, a German stem cell pioneer. Alt told him about an experimental therapy using stem cells from abdominal fat that had shown merit for treatment of back problems. Desperate for relief, he was ready to give this new procedure, which is not approved in the United States, a try. He flew to Isar Klinikum in Munich, Germany, where Dr. Alt extracted fat from the abdomen and processed the fluid to get concentrated stem cells. The cells were then injected back into Nicklaus. After a few months, the pain did subside, and Nicklaus is playing golf again (although not professionally). Nicklaus is planning to go back later for a shoulder treatment, which will cost $10,000. When asked about why he had kept the treatment „secret,‰ he responded that no one had asked him about it and so he did not tell anyone.