The way to the Red Planet and other mysterious worlds is being inspired by the villainous Khan from the blockbuster films, according to new research. The use of stem cell technology may mean the difference between life and death on any attempt to travel beyond Earth into the wilderness of space. So the first person to walk on Mars is likely to be selected from the growing group of people whose parents took the step to store their child's stem cells at birth. Stem cells are 'blank' cells that can be reprogrammed to turn into any other cell in the body, enabling the replacement of damaged cells. More and more British parents, including TV presenter Natalie Pinkham and dancer Darcey Bussell, are paying more than £2,000 to freeze samples from their babies' umbilical cords at birth. Stem cells are also found in bone marrow and some body tissue, but the procedure to harvest them from umbilical cords is less risky. Adventurous Mars pioneers will have to be especially prepared for the