Table of Contents

1 Front Matter; 2 Introduction; 3 1 Plant or Animal?; 4 2 Mouse Strain 129; 5 3 The Purple Cell; 6 4 Mystery in a Dish; 7 5 The Embryo Experiments; 8 6 The Canary's Song; 9 7 After the Birth of Louise Brown; 10 8 Monkeys to Humans; 11 9 Epic upon Epic; 12 10 Marrow to Brain?; 13 11 The Art of Cell Replacement; 14 12 After Tomorrow; 15 Notes; 16 Glossary; 17 Acknowledgments; 18 Index

About the Author

Ann B. Parson

Reviews

"The first convincing evidence that failing hearts can be repaired using bone marrow stem cells has been produced by a clinical trial, it was revealed yesterday. U.S. scientists compared two groups of heart bypass patients, with patients in one group treated with stem cells taken from their own hip bones. Six months later the hearts of the stem cell group were pumping out more blood than those of patients who had bypass surgery alone."

"The first convincing evidence that failing hearts can be repaired using bone marrow stem cells has been produced by a clinical trial, it was revealed yesterday. U.S. scientists compared two groups of heart bypass patients, with patients in one group treated with stem cells taken from their own hip bones. Six months later the hearts of the stem cell group were pumping out more blood than those of patients who had bypass surgery alone."

In this engaging and well-researched account of stem-cell research, science journalist Parson (coauthor, Decoding Darkness: The Search for the Genetic Causes of Alzheimer's Disease) describes the history of regeneration, embryology, and developmental biology research. She recounts how the search for stem cells in animals eventually led to embryonic and fetal stem-cell research, which in turn brought up the myriad ethical and political problems. Parson is sympathetic to the dilemmas faced by researchers who want to study stem cells for developmental and medical reasons. While human trials are still not conclusive, Parson discusses possible medical uses for stem cell: cures for Parkinson's disease, juvenile onset diabetes, muscular dystrophy, heart disease, and many other conditions. Most current books on stem-cell research are technical, somewhat biased, or told from one point of view. Parson has presented a fair, well-rounded view of the subject. Recommended for public and academic libraries. Margaret Henderson, formerly with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Lib., NY Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.