| Summary: | After decades of intense experimental work by a number of different investigators, it is now clearly recognized that the ability of stem cells to give rise to broad variety of differentiated cell types is critical not only to the emergence of new and more effective treatments for human diseases, but also to understanding the pathogenesis of congenital abnormalities and cancer. In Stem Cells Handbook, leading scientists in the field survey the "state-of-the-science" of stem cell biology, explaining the origin of stem cells, and describing how they function, how they can cause illness, and how they might be employed to cure or ameliorate disease. In particular, the authors discuss the roles of stem cells in development and organogenesis, in normal tissue turnover, in the repair response to injury, and in carcinogenesis. They also explain how to obtain stem cells from different organs, culture them in vitro, and manipulate them for therapeutic use. The book highlights the promise of using embryonic and adult tissue stem cells in both animal models and human diseases for the replacement of damaged tissue, for the treatment of cancer, for cell replacement, and for gene therapy treatments of genetic and metabolic diseases. Comprehensive and authoritative, Stem Cells Handbook not only critically reviews and summarizes the diverse studies now being carried out on this highly promising class of cells, but also constitutes every investigator's gold-standard reference on stem cell biology and medicine today
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