Stem cells : scientific facts and fiction /

Probably no area of current cell biology research is as imbued with hope for treatment of human disease, and as bedeviled by ethical concerns, as stem cell research. Once, true pluripotent stem cells were thought to reside only in bone marrow and related tissues; recent findings confirm that most human tissues harbor a population of stem cells. This understanding plus technical advances that permit the reprogramming of differentiated adult cells to become pluripotent have fueled new possibilities for a wide variety of therapies-and permitted the growth of misunderstandings and even outright frauds concerning stem cells as well. This second edition, some 100 pages longer than its predecessor (CH, Nov'11, 49-1501), seeks to educate interested readers about the true therapeutic possibilities that stem cells present, to describe new and exciting research (organs-on-a-chip, anyone?) in clear and nontechnical prose, and to correct possible misunderstandings about this brave new world of biology. It is an impressive encyclopedia of modern biotechnology that presents complex material in short, easy-to-grasp chapters. Some of the technical details are oddly placed, and some of the illustrations are (literally) too sketchy. However, this is a solid, informative effort. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. --Sally K. Sommers Smith, Boston University