Essentials of Stem Cell Biology

This book is an excellent place to start if you're interested in stem cells. It covers just about all areas of research and is authoritatively authored by serveral experts in the field. The only caveat is that the field is changing so rapidly that some of the information in the book is a bit outdated (and of course, that's true of just about science text). However, you can quickly supplement the information in this book by getting more current research papers off pubmed or elsewhere. All in all, I think this book does provide an excellent foundation for getting into the field and understanding the basic science and its potential promise.

This large book follows the common trend in new and emerging sciences in being written by a large number of authors who are active researchers in the field. The science simply has not yet had time to resolve itself into a common body of knowledge that one author can present to the world. In this book there are some 200 contributors from literally around the world. A quick scan shows people from the United States, Israel, the UK, Italy, Switzerland, Australia, Japan and more. As you would expect each team of authors concentrates on the particular area of research in which he is engaged. This gives you an up to date view of the state of the art at the risk of having chapters of unequal quality. The book starts off with the simple question, "What are stem cells." There are then chapters on what they do, how they work, methods and procedures used in research, and several chapters on how stem cell research is developing treatments for various diseases. The book concludes with four chapters on the regulations and ethics of stem cell research. This includes chapters on governmental and religious aspects. This sections concludes with a paper by the actress Mary Tyler Moore who has had type 1 diabetes for more than 40 years. She titles her chapter "It's Not About Curiosity, It's About Cures." This book is the definitive state of the art as it exists today.

I have this book shipped from US to Thailand. I cannot believe that it takes only two weeks which is earlier than I expected it to be arriving. This book is a must for researcher and student who work on stem cell research. It's a good reference with the most up-to-date information. A special feature of this book include the information about iPS cell. It really help me understand what is stem cell and its application. However, the book is not for a beginner in this field. Some aspects in this book require advance knowledge in Cell biology, Immunology as well as Genetics Science. I don't have a very strong background in cell biology at all and I know nothing about immunology and genetics at all. So I have to review those information first in order to understand what it says in the book. But I give more than 5 stars for this book!

Well balanced, superbly written muiltiauthored textbook. Excellent discussion of basic cell biology of embryonic and adult (nonembryonic) stem cells from multiple sources, laboratory techniques and potential clinical applications and includes a chapter on ethics and national policy for stem cell research. Suitable for students, clinicians as well as experienced stem cell biologists.

"Essentials of Stem Cell Biology belongs on the shelf of every researcher, clinician, and student who is interested in new developments in stem cell research and the related treatment options that are being developed."