Books - Immortal Cell

ImmortalCell.com |

Immortal Cell - Internet | Video | Media Projects
An on-going series of video projects based primarily on the book by Michael D. West

Dr. Michael D. West
site: Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. |

Essentials of Stem Cell Biology | Amazon Books |
Advanced Cell Technology
Robert Lanza, M.D.
Vice President of Research & Scientific Development, and his colleagues
This abridged version of the bestselling reference
Handbook of Stem Cells, Two-Volume Set
attempts to incorporate all the essential subject matter of the original two-volume edition in a single volume. The material has been reworked in an accessible format suitable for students and general readers interested in following the latest advances in stem cells, including full color presentation throughout. Although some extra language and chapters have been deleted, rigorous effort has been made to retain from the original two-volume set the material pertinent to the understanding of this exciting area of biology. The organization of the book remains largely unchanged, combining the prerequisites for a general understanding of adult and embryonic stem cells; the tools, methods, and experimental protocols needed to study and characterize stem cells and progenitor populations; as well as a presentation by the world's experts of what is currently known about each specific organ system. Full-color presentation througout -- Each chapter begins with 3-5 defined glossary terms, and all of the terms are collected in a comprehensive list within the book -- References have been eliminated - now there are about 10 bibliographic entries per chapter

Handbook of Stem Cells, Two-Volume Set
"The Handbook of Stem Cells, edited by Robert Lanza and colleagues, is an ambitious new text that achieves extraordinary completeness and inclusiveness... the editors have succeeded in putting together a reference that is broad enough in scope, but sufficiently detailed and rigorous, to be of real interest to both new and seasoned investigators in the field." -- Steve Goldman, University of Rechester Medical Center, in NATURE CELL BIOLOGY (April 2005, Volume 7, No. 4) | "I am firmly convinced this is a set every biologist and physician, whatsoever his specialty, must have on his desk." -- CarloAlberto Redi, Book review editor for the EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HISTOCHEMISTRY (49/1) "...a collection of definitive articles by the world's experts... "These books make an invaluable contribution to the education of researchers and clinicians both of the present day and of the future. They should be available in libraries of all biology and medical schools as well as those of companies and research institutions." -- Ian Wilmut in Times Higher Education Supplement "... the Handbook of Stem Cells is highly recommended primarily as a reference for scientists in the field of animal development... Academic medical libraries and other academic or special libraries serving researchers in cell and developmental biology will particularly benefit from having this handbook available." -- Susan Kendall, Health Sciences Librarian, Michigan State University Library in E-Streams (February 2005)

Principles of Cloning | 2002
Book Description
Principles of Cloning is the first comprehensive book on animal cloning since the creation of Dolly. The contributing authors are the principal investigators on each of the animal species cloned to date, and are expertly qualified to present the state-of-the-art information in their respective areas.
Editors Cibelli, Lanza and West
garnered worldwide spotlight late in 2001 when their company, Advanced Cell Technology, announced the successful engineering of the world's first cloned human embryo.
The trio was featured in the US News & World Report December 2001 cover story,
"The First Human Clone."
The book presents the basic biological mechanisms of how cloning works and progresses to discuss current and potential applications in basic biology, agriculture, biotechnology, and medicine.
First and most comprehensive book on animal cloning
Chapters written by the world' expert in each area
From the early experiments in amphibia to the latest one in mammals, everything is included in this book and told by the researcher that did it and how they did it
Basic biological mechanisms on how cloning works and all their current and potential applications
Cloning applications on basic biology, agriculture, biotechnology and medicine are included
Editors are the pioneers in the field Book Info Advanced Cell Technology, Worcester, MA. Comprehensive text introduces the mechanisms of cloning.
Discusses the current and future applications in basic biology, agriculture, biotechnology, and medicine. Emphasizes the value of cloning in basic and applied research. Contains halftone illustrations, tables, and graphs. From the Back Cover Principles of Cloning is the first comprehensive book on cloning since Dolly the sheep was cloned. The contributing authors are the principal investigators on each of the animal species cloned to date and are expertly qualified to present the state-of-the-art information in their respective areas. The book spans from the earliest experiments in amphibians to the latest research on mammals as told by the scientists who performed this work. Covering the basic biological mechanisms of how cloning works, the book rounds out the discussion with a look at current and potential applications in basic biology, agriculture, biotechnology, and medicine. In addition to providing a clear and thorough understanding of cloning technology, the book also emphasizes the value of cloning in basic and applied research.
Written in a clear, easy-to-comprehend style, this book is a great introduction to anyone interested in the science of cloning.
About the Author
Robert Lanza, M.D.
is currently vice president of medical & scientific development at Advanced Cell Technology, and Adjunct Professor of Surgical Sciences at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He has several hundred scientific publications and patents, and 16 books, including Principles of Tissue Engineering (1st and 2nd Editions), Methods of Tissue Engineering, Principles of Cloning, XENO, Yearbook of Cell & Tissue Transplantation, One World: The Health & Survival of the Human Species in the 21st Century (as editor, with forewords by C. Everett Koop and former President Jimmy Carter), and Medical Science & the Advancement of World Health. Dr. Lanza received his B.A. and M.D. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was both a University Scholar and Benjamin Franklin Scholar. He is a former Fulbright Scholar, and studied as a student in the laboratory of Richard Hynes (MIT), Jonas Salk (The Salk Institute), and Nobel laureates Gerald Edelman (Rockefeller University) and Rodney Porter (Oxford University). He also worked closely (and coauthored a series of papers) with the late Harvard psychologist B.F. Skinner and heart transplant pioneer Christiaan Barnard. Dr. Lanza's current area of research focuses on the use of stem cells in regenerative medicine.
First and most comprehensive book on animal cloning. Chapters written by the world's expert in each area. From the early experiments in amphibia to the latest one in mammals, everything is included in this book and told by the researcher that did it and how they did it. Basic biological mechanisms on how cloning works and all their current and potential applications. Cloning applications on basic biology, agriculture, biotechnology and medicine are included. Editors are the pioneers in the field.

BOOKS

Ariff Bongso
This book brings together the state-of-the-art on all the types of stem cells written by giants in the respective fields. It is hoped that knowledge of one stem cell type will complement the other and much can be learned by interaction.
| Book | Amazon |
Ariff Bongso
a Sri Lanka-born embryologist at the National University of Singapore,
became the first person to isolate human embryonic stem cells, and
in 2002 he discovered a way to grow stem-cell lines without the use of animal cells,
which could make it easier to find clinical uses in human beings.
Bongso achieved those breakthroughs nearly alone,
but that would not be the case anymore, thanks to Biopolis,
the government's $300 million bet on bioscience.
| World Scientific | Book | Amazon |
Biopolis in Singapore |
Biopolis Johns Hopkins in Singapore |
Biopolis | site |
Biopolis - a centre for biomedical sciences in Asia and the world
Located within one-north and in close proximity to the National University of Singapore, National University Hospital and the Singapore Science Parks, Biopolis is envisioned to be a world-class biomedical sciences research and development (R&D) hub in Asia. This campus is dedicated to providing space for biomedical R&D activities and it is an environment that fosters a collaborative culture among the private and public research community | site |
Stem Cells and The Future Of Regenerative Medicine
by Institute of Medicine
The Proteus Effect: Stem Cells and Their Promise for Medicine
by Ann B. Parson
The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate:
Science, Ethics, and Public Policy (Basic Bioethics)
by Suzanne Holland
Stem Cells and Cloning
by David A. Prentice
Stem Cells: Scientific Progress And Future Research Directions
by National Institutes of Health

Liberation Biology: The Scientific and Moral Case for the Biotech Revolution.
by Ronald Bailey
MATT RIDLEY
an accomplished science writer with a doctorate in zoology from Oxford
"Francis Crick: Discoverer of the Genetic Code" | LA Times |
In 1953, Francis Crick and James Watson solved the mystery by determining DNA's double-helical structure.
-- "Genome,"
-- "The Agile Gene"
Francis Crick
1994 "The Astonishing Hypothesis"
| James Watson | Sydney Brenner | Leslie Orgel | Christof Koch, of Caltech
"The Double Helix" by James Watson
A 1968 account of the efforts of Francis Crick and James Watson
Generally acknowledged as one of the most engaging science books of the last century and has sold more than a million copies

Leonard Hayflick : Wiki | biography |
-- Professor of Anatomy at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine
-- Professor of Medical Microbiology at Stanford University School of Medicine
-- Gerontological Society of America

Stem Cell Now - some consider the greatest discovery since nuclear fusion |

Human Embryonic Stem Cells:
An Introduction to the Science and Therapeutic Potential (Paperback)
by Ann A. Kiessling
Book Info
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Text explores the relatively new field of human embryonic stem cells and the diseases that may be treated by stem cell therapy. Provides an historical overview and provides scientific details necessary to understanding overall biology. Also examines the many moral and ethical issues surrounding this field of research.
Kiessling & Anderson have packed the 200-page book with concise information about the history, therapeutic potential, & technical challenges of HESCs science in a coherent manner. Most specially, the holistic look of hESCs enables readers to gain better & objective understanding of the social debate about the field. Among various parts of the book, I find the last part 'hESCs & Society' to be the most provocative section; the other 'science' sections were also higly engaging, especially with the clear illustrations, photos, & sidebar stories. Let's hope that hESCs' potential can be fully unleashed to treat various patient populations in the world.
NO
I found this book to be relatively well written supplemented with clear figures. That being said, I found the book quite biased towards hESC research. Any introduction towards a subject, especially directed to the lay reader should be a little more objective than this book is. I understand that the book is about hESCs, but adult stem cells are given a cursory brush aside as if they were not an alternative at all. I particularly found offensive the following statement, "Scientific ignorance is the driving engine of the antiembryonic stem cell movement." On the contrary, moral indifference, the almighty dollar and scientific ignorance are all driving the proembryonic movement. I also happen to have an advanced degree in bioengineering and am against hESC research. The book neglects to mention that clinical trials with hESCs are far, far away. Instead, as do most books of this type, it paints a picture that cures with hESC's are just around the corner when this is simply not the case. Overall, this book typifies the hESC hype that is prevalent in today's society.
YES
Kiessling and Anderson have produced a very good book, Human Embryonic Stem Cells, subtitled "An Introduction to the Science and Therapeutic Potential." Filled with detail, this is the stem cell textbook I will use for my seminar class this coming semester. The book is divided into five parts:
The Basics;
Egg Specific Functions;
Embryonic Stem Cells;
Stem Cell Therapies; and
Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Society.
It has a thoughtful and lively writing style, and the authors have written it for a wide audience. I think it is just right for advanced undergraduates who have had cell biology. It is well illustrated, and contains diagrams covering everything from crossover events in meiosis to the construction of mouse chimeras. It is unfortunate that many of the figure captions are so brief as to be misleading (i.e., "human chromosome pairing during mitosis"), though the explanations in the text are accurate. I particularly like the highlighted sidebars throughout the book, giving historical context to techniques and experiments. These range from early reports of human egg activation in the 1940's to the development of tissue culture media The authors' strong enthusiasm for the potential of embryonic stem cell therapies comes through (in contrast to Prentice's view, above), and their mission in writing this book is to make the case for public support of embryonic stem cell research.
Collaboratively written by Ann A. Kiessling and Scott Anderson for readers who are already basically familiar with the fundamentals of cell biology, Human Embryonic Stem Cells is a informed and informative presentation of what modern research and science has learned about stem cells and the therapies that involve them. Addressing both medical and ethical issues, and enhanced with black-and-white photographs and drawings, Human Embryonic Stem Cells is a strongly recommended scholarly and scientific work and an invaluable contribution to having an informed public and academic understanding with respect to an active and controversial medica/social/political issue.
I was extremely impressed with this exceptional book as it teaches lay people what is happening in this very important, cutting edge field. It is well layed out. Kiessling and Anderson cover the concepts, history, and backgrounds necessary so that all readers get a good understanding of the basics of stem cell research. They do it without sidesteping or ignoring many of the misconceptions, or beliefs that challenge many basic religious and ethical dogma. For example, when a woman's body produces nearly one million eggs ("20,000 eggs die each year including the dozen or so which are ovulated"), and the moment of conception can now be debated between when a sperm first connects with an egg and the time when DNA replication occurs is hours (at least 6 to 8 hours) later.
Once again, science is challenging our basic beliefs.
The world is no longer flat.
Unlike so many of our basic text books of the past, Human Embryonic Stem Cells frequently points out the edge of what is known in this science with "more study is needed in this area" being a common theme throughout the book. This book is the cutting edge. The chapters on Neurogenerative Diseases and Tissue Systems Failures point out that there is a real possibility for over 125 million people being helped and/or cured of everything from Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Diseases to Diabetes and Hemophilia. The research on Spinal Cord Injuries is changing what is known and believed about how we can treat those injured, too. This book isn't easy reading. It doesn't shy away from including the science, yet the rewards are abundant. Every member of congress should study this book before voting to limit one of the most promising fields open to mankind

Stem Cells and The Future Of Regenerative Medicine (Paperback)
by Institute of Medicine (Corporate Author)
Stem Cells and the Future of Regenerative Medicine
provides a deeper exploration of the biological, ethical, and funding questions prompted by the therapeutic potential of undifferentiated human cells. In terms accessible to lay readers, the book summarizes what we know about adult and embryonic stem cells and discusses how to go about the transition from mouse studies to research that has therapeutic implications for people. Perhaps most important, Stem Cells and the Future of Regenerative Medicine also provides
an overview of the moral and ethical problems that arise from the use of embryonic stem cells.
This timely book compares the impact of public and private research funding and discusses approaches to appropriate research oversight. Based on the insights of leading scientists, ethicists, and other authorities, the book offers authoritative recommendations regarding the use of existing stem cell lines versus new lines in research, the important role of the federal government in this field of research, and other fundamental issues.
Stem Cells and The Future Of Regenerative Medicine
by Institute of Medicine
"A wide range of perspectives is addressed in this concise and informative book ... clear presentation and well-defined language." -- NSTA Recommends, 2002
Book Description
Recent scientific breakthroughs, celebrity patient advocates, and conflicting religious beliefs have come together to bring the state of stem cell research � specifically embryonic stem cell research � into the political crosshairs. President Bush�s watershed policy statement allows federal funding for embryonic stem cell research but only on a limited number of stem cell lines. Millions of Americans could be affected by the continuing political debate among policymakers and the public.
Stem Cells and the Future of Regenerative Medicine
provides a deeper exploration of the biological, ethical, and funding questions prompted by the therapeutic potential of undifferentiated human cells. In terms accessible to lay readers, the book summarizes what we know about adult and embryonic stem cells and discusses how to go about the transition from mouse studies to research that has therapeutic implications for people. Perhaps most important, Stem Cells and the Future of Regenerative Medicine also provides
an overview of the moral and ethical problems that arise from the use of embryonic stem cells.
This timely book compares the impact of public and private research funding and discusses approaches to appropriate research oversight. Based on the insights of leading scientists, ethicists, and other authorities, the book offers authoritative recommendations regarding the use of existing stem cell lines versus new lines in research, the important role of the federal government in this field of research, and other fundamental issue.

The Stem Cell Controversy: Debating the Issues (Contemporary Issues (Prometheus))
by Michael Ruse
The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy (Basic Bioethics)
by Suzanne Holland
The Proteus Effect: Stem Cells and Their Promise for Medicine
by Ann B. Parson
Human Embryonic Stem Cells: An Introduction to the Science and Therapeutic Potential
by Ann A. Kiessling

The Proteus Effect: Stem Cells and Their Promise for Medicine
by Ann B. Parson
Arguably the most exciting, promising and controversial medical research being performed today explores the potential of stem cells, unique cells that, when dividing, can produce either more cells like themselves or other specialized cells, such as heart cells, skin cells and neurons. Since President Bush's highly publicized excursion into bioethics in the summer of 2001, when he limited government funding of stem-cell research, stem cells have been thrust into the public consciousness, bringing the promise of regenerative medicine and miracle cures for such conditions as multiple sclerosis, blindness, heart damage and male pattern baldness.
Though most of what's written on the science and ethics of stem-cell research focuses on the cutting edge, in this study, science journalist Parson takes us through its history, ranging from 18th-century natural philosophers'
discovery of seemingly immortal organisms
to the exploration, two centuries later, of curious mouse tumors, called teratomas, that may unlock the secrets of the human embryo. If anything, the book is too thorough, and the never-ending succession of new scientists and new breakthroughs means that few, if any, stick in the reader's mind as particularly memorable. The real focus is the scientific process itself, with its incremental and distributed march forward. While not for the casual reader, this book will satisfy those looking to immerse themselves in the finer points of stem-cell history.
"...a well-researched, highly readable book...
Parson wonderfully describes the discovery of both types [embryonic and adult] of cells."
This is an important book to read because Anne Parson ties together the historical events and patterns that establish the modern understanding of the Stem Cell.
Blood Stem cells.
25 Trillion blood cells exist in the blood and every second 2 million blood cells die and are replaced. The key was to find the pluripotent stem cell that differentiated into the blood cell. Find the original parent was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Researcher found that mice with defective bone marrow (damaged by radiation) could be restored by translates of marrow stem cells injected directly in the blood. The bone marrow transplant in essence restored the bone marrow stem cells to functional and normal status.
Human leukocyte antigens (HLA) protein are found on the surface of the the cell. The HLA help the immune system decide what cells are foreign and should be destroyed. The immune system destroys the cells by creating antibodies and other substances.
In syngeneic transplants,
patients receive stem cells from their identical twin.
Allogeneic transplants.
The patients receive stem cells from someone other than the patient or an identical twin. For a bone marrow transplant to work, the recipient's immune system needs to have a way to keep the immune system (T-Cells) from destorying the donated marrow. The HLA in the donated donated marrow cells must be identical.
HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DR
were used to determine a match between a donor and recipient. A total of six antigens from the donor must match the six antigens of the recipient.
Autologous transplants.
The patient receives the harvested stem cells and these stem cell integrate and produce new blood cells. The harvested stem cells come from the blood, peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. The stem cells are frozen until they are ready to be transplanted. The patient receives the stem cells back into their blood.
After entering the bloodstream, the stem cells travel to the bone marrow, where they begin to produce new white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets in a process known as "engraftment."
Neurogensis.
Female Canary bird brains could increase in size by introducing a hormone causing maleness destroying the myth that neurons did not produce after birth.
In 1960, Joseph Altman found evidence of new cells in the hippocampus of an adult rat brain.
In 1988, scientist showed the adult human brain produces new neurons. Stem cells in the brain produce either neurons or glia, the glue that holds the neurons together. After the neuron is generated, it migrates to a specific part of the brain and differentiates, as a, sensory neuron or motor neuron or interneuron. As the brain develops, molecular signals from other cells help determine the shape and location.
Parson has done an excellent job in presenting various aspects of the stem cell field in an engaging & vivid manner. Supported by her extensive research & interviews, the content of 'The Proteus Effect' is well balanced, with fascinating & concise information in areas including: history, science, people, commercial potential, political & ethical issues. It is refreshing to see how Parson managed to make a complicated science come to life.
Science journalist Ann B. Parson
presents The Proteus Effect: Stem Cells And Their Promise For Medicine,
a fascinating look at what research into fetal stem cells has to say about not only the latest modern medicine, but also the aging process and the destiny of humanity itself. Going from scientific discoveries in 1740 to the cutting-edge research of the modern day, The Proteus Effect looks at not only issues of research and learning, but also political and social concerns regarding stem cell research and ethical questions of a morally slippery slope.
An absolute must-read
for anyone seeking to learn more about this controversial research and
the new discoveries constantly being gleaned from it.
Nothing if not newsworthy, stem cells seem to hold a tremendous hint of cures for a number of very bad diseases. At the same time there are issues being raised about the moral/ethical issues involved in doing any research at all on the cells.
This book is really two or perhaps three books in one. Ms. Parson spends most of the time giving an excellent report on stem cells. Their history, the current research and the potential.
The second point discusses the legal aspects of culling the cells and reproducing them.
Finally she talks about the moral/ethical issues.
I'm sure that her treatment of these issues will be enough to offend a lot of people, but it seems fair and straigforward to me.
Adding interest to the book is the recent vote in California to spend a huge amount on stem cell research to establish California as a home for the huge business opportunities that people believe will result.
One thing is certain, regardless of the legal/moral/ethical issues, stem cell research is going to continue. It may not be done in the US, but it will certainly be done in China, Japan, Finland, Sweden, UK, Korea, Greece, Singapore and other countries.
Proteus Effect is the story of stem cells.
The author, Ann Parson, is a science reporter who has written articles on science topics for The New York Times, The Boston Globe and other such publications.
Like all good reporters, she has done exhaustive research, has interviewed leading workers in the field and had presented her results without editorializing.
The result is a readable and informative description of what is currently known about stem cells, the history of stem cell research and examples of how stem cell research bears on finding cures for diseases such as cancer, blindness, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries and many other medical problems.
I recommend this excellent book highly
to anyone who would like to understand what stem cells are,
and how stem-cell research may impact the future of medicine.
Coming from a nonscience background, I approached this book with trepidation, but was pleased and surprised with many moments of
"So that's what they mean when they say...."
The book gives a thorough and balanced background and description of this very important current topic. The discoveries are revealed through personal descriptions by dedicated scientists, related in Parson's accessible style. Disclaimer: I was the line editor for the book, but that also means I read every word.

The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate:
Science, Ethics, and Public Policy (Basic Bioethics)
by Suzanne Holland (Editor),
Karen Lebacqz (Editor),
Laurie Zoloth (Editor)
From Publishers Weekly
As President Bush tries to make up his mind over the stem cell controversy, the issue remains headline news. The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy, edited by social ethics academics Suzanne Holland, Karen Lebacqz and Laurie Zoloth and third in
MIT's Basic Bioethics series
edited by Glenn McGee and Arthur Caplan,
gathers 20 essays by scholars (including the editors) of theology, biology, medicine, medical and bioethics, philosophy and other disciplines.
Francoise Baylis
discusses the National Bioethics Advisory Commission's recommendation that stem cell research be federally funded.
Rabbi Elliott N. Dorff
analyzes the debate through a Jewish theological lens.
Thomas B. Okarma,
president and CEO of Geron Corporation,
a biotechnology corporation that initiated stem cell research in 1996,
offers "A Primer on the Technology and Its Medical Applications."
Others weigh in with
Christian, Roman Catholic, historical, feminist, social justice and public policy perspectives.
Human embryonic stem cells can divide indefinitely
and have the potential to develop into many types of tissue.
Research on these cells is essential to one of the most intriguing medical frontiers, regenerative medicine. It also raises a host of difficult ethical issues and has sparked great public interest and controversy.
This book offers a foundation for thinking about the many issues involved in human embryonic stem cell research. It considers questions about the nature of human life, the limits of intervention into human cells and tissues, and the meaning of our corporeal existence.
The fact that stem cells may be derived from living embryos
that are destroyed in the process
or from aborted fetuses ties the discussion of stem cell research to the ongoing debates on abortion.
In addition to these issues, the essays in the book touch on broader questions such as who should approve controversial research and what constitutes human dignity, respect, and justice.
The book contains contributions from the
Ethics Advisory Board of the Geron Coroporation;
excerpts from expert testimony given before the
National Bioethics Advisory Commission,
which helped shape recent National Institutes of Health policy;
and original analytical essays on the implications of this research.
Holland et al. created a good introduction to the public policy and science behind the current embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) debate, but while this book has "debate" in its title, there was little material disagreement between most of the contributors. A more robust, representative exchange of ideas would have made this book 5-star material.
The book is divided into several themes.
The first three chapters are on the basic science and history of stem cell research, and the editors' choice of contributors is impeccable: they include

James Thomson,
who first isolated human embryonic stem cells, and
Thomas Okarma,
president and CEO of Geron Corp.,
which is the private firm that has spearheaded the development of Thomson's discoveries.
The second section segues from history to public policy and ethics, including analyses of the
National Bioethics Advisory Committee's report on stem cells in 1999.
This by and large was a good introduction to how the government, and specifically the Clinton administration, began to respond to stem cells.
Erik Parens
has a good article on how people tried to differentiate between the morality of experimenting on embryos from IVF clinics and embryos made specifically for research, and a few other dilemmas stemming from current human embryonic stem cell (hES) sources and protocols.
We then go into the third section, which contains religious perspectives on ESCR.
This is where I found the term "debate" a misnomer, as for the exception of
Gilbert Meilaender,
a Protestant thelogian,
all the religious commentators tried to show how their traditions could tolerate, if not actively approve of, ESCR.
Now I know that many religious people approve of ESCR, but the deafening silence on the opposition's part (excepting Dr. Meilaender's rather short piece) concerns me.
Ironically, in the following section, sociologists
Paul Root Wolpe and Glenn McGee
note that the majority of the ESCR dialogue has been within a community
with an active interest in promoting ESCR.
This seems to be just the case in this book.
The fourth chapter is a public policy section,
with the aforementioned good essay by
Wolpe and McGee
on the nature of the ESCR debate.
The essays treat issues like whether pressure will be exerted on women in fertility clinics to donate unused embryos to labs, whether the poor will get stem cell therapy, government oversight, and several other practical concerns that must be addressed if one promotes ESCR and any future applications it may bring.
During the height of the ESCR debate, I didn't hear much of the minority or feminist viewpoint on ESCR, so the opinions of
Suzanne Holland
(who appears earlier in Section II),
Margaret McLean, and
Cynthia Cohen
were particularly handy.
On the whole, this is a useful book,
but I suggest that in addition to reading the thoughts in this volume, you should check out
Richard Doerflinger
the research ethics group Do No Harm
site: http://www.stemcellresearch.org/ |
Richard Doerflinger
Deputy Director Deputy Director, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Deputy Director of the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop
Adjunct Fellow in Bioethics and Public Policy at the National Catholic Bioethics Center
Thursday, March 27 200 US Senate Hearing
Site: http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=685&wit_id=1821 |
or some of the others who oppose embryonic research.
If this book were to do justice to both sides, it would be a much better resource.

I'm glad Holland has written a book that covers the great variety of issues involving stem cells. I recently moderated a UN panel on cloning (search "Top bioethicists debate cloning at the UN"). It was open to the public, and people from all walks of life attended including: students, business and religious leaders, medical doctors, and politicians among others.
Among the topics (which Holland covers) were:
What defines the beginning of life?
Different countries have different legal standards ranging
from a few days after conception to a few weeks after conception.
Often these standards are based on biological issues
-- like the fact that it takes several days for an embryo to implant, and
this doesn't always succeed, leading to a spontaneous abortion.
So too do different religions have differing standards for when life begins. Recall that for Catholics, an unborn baby has a separate, limbo status.
Mixed with this question, naturally, is the related question of when does death occur?
Again, this depends on the given country, but brain death is a common definition.
Can we then not claim that an embryo, before it develops brain waves, is not a living human being?
Another interesting question considered has to do with wealth gradients. Invitro fertilization is expensive, and thus locks out much of the world. In ten or twenty years, this technology, coupled with advanced genetic techniques, will likely have advanced to the point of allowing us to improve the physical and mental capabilities of babies.
In relative terms, it will likely be a much more expensive technology. What, then, will happen to our children's ability to compete against super humans?
I recommend Holland's book as an important step in making us realize that deeply important issues to our children are facing us now.
Stem cells
the leading newspaper topic before the September 11 horrors and
a topic to which we are of necessity returning.
This book is an amazingly readable compilation of information on the science, the positions. the impact of the research (or failure to do the research),and the pros and cons of regulation.
In a time when not only the government's but also the public's views on this issue are in a constant state of review, these editors have managed to pull together a collection that will not become a stale item, even though addressing a "hot" topic. The selections are ones that someone without medical or research scientist training can readily understand, yet not simplistic to the extent of ever bordering on boring.
Truly a must read.

After Dolly: The Uses and Misuses of Human Cloning (Hardcover)
by Ian Wilmut, Roger Highfield
From Publishers Weekly
In 1997 the world was surprised to learn that scientists had cloned the first mammal, a sheep named Dolly. The lead scientist for the project, carried out at the Roslin Institute in Scotland, was Ian Wilmut, who in this engrossing book tells how he and his colleagues made their breakthrough. Many people were excited about the potential medical advances that cloning presented; others were convinced it was a step toward eugenics and human cloning. Wilmut, assisted by Highfield, science editor of Britain's Daily Telegraph, argues passionately that cloning will revolutionize medicine and�perhaps a little too optimistically after the South Korean cloning scandal�that scientists can be relied on to behave. He explains why a blastocyst, the 200 cells present a few days after fertilization, is not an embryo and should be permitted in medical research. But Wilmut opposes the use of genetic enhancement to create "designer babies." The author is a bit defensive at times, but he explains his positions clearly so readers on both sides of this contentious issue will be able to re-examine and clarify their own convictions. 20 b&w illus.
Copyright © Reed Business Information,
a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Wilmut counts sheep, some very famous sheep, among his best friends. An embryologist at the Roslin Institute in Scotland, he was on a first-name basis with Dolly, the first cloned sheep, even before she was a star. In his account of the program that eventuated in Dolly, he covers a variety of the social, medical, and scientific implications of cloning. He is an advocate, of course, though strongly opposed to human cloning, save in very rigidly defined and fiercely circumscribed circumstances. His secular thoughts on a religious hot-button issue reveal a man of great respect, not just for the opinions of others but also for others' lives. Cloning is a topic that could be made mind-numbing with technical detail and jargon. By putting data together in a manner that clarifies rather than obscures, Wilmut, aided by science writer Highfield, well explains potentially confusing issues, in the end making a strong enough case to convince us that Dolly neither lived nor died in vain.
Donna Chavez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Stem Cells: Scientific Progress And Future Research Directions

Book Description
The makings of future news headlines about tomorrow�s life saving therapies starts in the biomedical research laboratory. Ideas abound; early successes and later failures and knowledge gained from both; the rare lightning bolt of an unexpected breakthrough discovery --- this is a glimpse of the behind the scenes action of some of the world�s most acclaimed stem cell scientists� quest to solve some of the human body�s most challenging mysteries.
Stem cells --- what lies ahead? The following chapters explore some of the cutting edge research featuring stem cells. Disease and disorders with no therapies or at best, partially effective ones, are the lure of the pursuit of stem cell research. Described here are examples of significant progress that is a prologue to an era of medical discovery of cell-based therapies that will one day restore function to those whose lives are now challenged every day --- but perhaps in the future, no longer.

Stem Cells: Scientific Progress & Future Research Directions (Paperback)
by Lana R. Skirboll (Author)
Book Description
Stem cells (SC) comprise a special kind of cell that has a unique capacity to renew itself & to give rise to specialized cell types. SC may be able to replace cells & tissues that are damaged & diseased. The report addresses SC from adult, fetal tissue, & embryonic sources. A significant emphasis is placed on understandings gained from mouse models of development & mouse SC research. Covers scientific publications on the characterization of specialized cells developed from embryonic SC & the plasticity of adult SC. Includes a general overview of early developments to assist the reader in understanding the key events in formation of cells, tissues, & the whole organism

The Stem Cell Controversy: Debating the Issues (Contemporary Issues (Prometheus)) (Paperback)
by Michael Ruse (Editor), Christopher A. Pynes (Editor)
"To begin at the beginning, we need to know something about the science..."�
Book Description
Recent advances in medical research have shown that embryonic stem cells can be used to treat some of the most debilitating diseases, notably Parkinson's disease, spinal injuries, and nerve cell damage. Yet the troubling ethical downside of this promising technology is that up till now the main source of stem cells has been tissue taken from aborted fetuses. This practice has raised sharp criticisms from opponents of abortion who charge that science is capitalizing on an abhorrent procedure. Proponents of stem cell research argue that scientists are making legitimate use of already aborted fetuses and it is unfair to deprive those suffering from serious diseases and injuries of a potentially revolutionary therapy. The issue became so divisive that in August 2001, President Bush addressed the nation on new developments in stem cell research and the ethical dilemmas this technology poses. Should such research be permitted? What, if any, moral, religious or political objections might be raised?
Philosophers Michael Ruse and
Christopher A. Pynes
have compiled this valuable collection of articles by noted experts to address all aspects of this question by examining one of today's most challenging and fiercely debated new areas of science. They explain the scientific research, explore the medical promise that it offers, and present the many sides of the ethical, religious, and policy debate.
The contributors -- scientists, medical practitioners, philosophers, theologicans, historians, and policy analysts -- offer a variety of perspectives, to give readers the critical tools they need to shape an informed position on the topic. This important resource will be useful and accessible to educated readers with no prior knowledge of this contentious issue.
About the Author
Michael Ruse
is the Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy at Florida State University
and the author or editor of
GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS;
TAKING DARWIN SERIOUSLY;
PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGY; and
BUT IS IT SCIENCE?

CLONING: RESPONSIBLE SCIENCE OR TECHNOMADNESS

Christopher A. Pynes
is an instructor and the undergraduate advisor
for the Department of Philosophy at Florida State University.

The book's essays are not in favor of stem cell reserach, March 7, 2006
Stem Cell Research: New Frontiers in Science and Ethics
by Nancy E. Snow
A collection of essays produced at the 2001 symposium, titled with the same name. This symposium attracted over 70 scientists, philosophers and theologians from across the United States for the three-day event. The idea of the symposium sponsors (Milwaukee's Marquette University, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and the Madison-based Wisconsin Catholic Conference) was to discuss and educate about the scientific ethical and public policy implications of stem cell research. In my opinion, the essays were chosen because of what I think is affinity with the author and/or symposium's sponsor ideas. It will be nice if we could hear the other side of the story.

GOD AND THE EMBRYO
Brent Waters - editor
Book Description
GOD AND THE EMBRYO
Discussions and debates over the medical use of stem cells and cloning have always had a religious component. But there are many different religious voices. This anthology on how religious perspectives can inform the difficult issues of stem cell research and human cloning is essential to the discussion. Contributors reflect the spectrum of Christian responses, from liberal Protestant to evangelical to Roman Catholic. The noted moral philosopher, Laurie Zoloth, offers a Jewish approach to cloning, and Sondra Wheeler contributes her perspective on both Jewish and Christian understandings of embryonic stem cell research.
In addition to the discussions found here, GOD AND THE EMBRYO includes a series of official statements on stem cell research and cloning from religious bodies, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church in America, the United Methodist Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and the Rabbinical Council of America. "Human Cloning and Human Dignity: An Ethical Inquiry," from the statement of the President's Council on Bioethics, concludes the book.
The debates and the discussions will continue, but for anyone interested in the nuances of and religious perspectives that make their important contributions to these ethically challenging and important dialectics, GOD AND THE EMBRYO is an invaluable resource.
GOD AND THE EMBRYO
What a complicated issue! And Waters let's us in on this mess. Ever consider what constitutes legal death? When the heart stops beating? When the brain is dead: as in no brain activity? It would seem we can apply these kinds of definitions to stem cells wouldn't it? By symmetry with death, you would think that a bunch of stem cells with no measurable heartbeat or brainwaves would not be considered to be a person.
But NO!
Some religious people whom I moderated at a UN panel on stem cells and cloning claim life starts at conception. Still others -- since implantation is not certain to happen -- say life doesn't begin until after implantation into the womb would normally happen.
These are but two of MANY, MANY definitions of the beginning of life, and this is only one issue of religious voices concerning stem cell science.
Given that this science and technology is only going to continue to expand in countries like China and the UK, we need to be aware of the issues.
I'm telling you, a great place to start is Waters' book.
Alex Alaniz Ph.D.

From Library Journal Established in late 2001 by President Bush to consider the ethical ramifications of biomedical research, the President's Council on Bioethics is made up of 17 scholars representing medicine, law, genetics, government, international studies, psychiatry, philosophy, and ethics. Its first report focuses on three major issues: cloning to produce children (reproductive uses), cloning for biomedical research (therapeutic uses), and various public policies that could be enacted. The council members were divided on their recommendations regarding human cloning, so both a majority and a minority opinion are presented here. While both groups favored a ban on human cloning to produce children, they disagreed in the areas of therapeutic research; ten members recommended a four-year moratorium on cloning for biomedical research, while seven urged the regulated use of cloned embryos for biomedical research. Along with brief background information on human cloning and a discussion of terminology related to the field, the report also includes a glossary and a bibliography. In addition, many of the members have included a personal statement that clarifies their own specific viewpoint. Although the prepublication version of this report is available on the web, the reasonably priced paper copy fairly represents the many opinions and complexities related to human cloning, making it a worthy purchase for convenience and archival stability. Highly recommended for all libraries. Tina Neville, Univ. of South Florida at St. Petersburg Lib. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
Offers wise and provocative insights into the ethical implications of one of the most momentous developments of all-cloning.
his book is the result of a special inquiry ordered by US President Bush to examine these contentious issues. Late in 2001 he announced the formation of a bioethics council to weigh into the many related issues involved in the cloning debate. Chaired by bioethicist Leon Kass of the University of Chicago, a panel of experts was quickly convened, and after 6 months of research and reflection, this final report was presented to the President in July 2002.
This 350-page book presents the findings of the Council. The Council was comprised of 18 experts in science, medicine, public policy and ethics. Some were secular, some religious. Some were fully against any form of human cloning - even for research purposes - while others were much more open to therapeutic research involving embryos, whether deliberately created for that purpose, or "surplus" from assisted reproduction programs. The majority however seem quite concerned about all types of human cloning.
The report begins with an overview of the debate, including scientific, historical and ethical components. Terminology is also clearly defined. Then the pros and cons of the ethics of reproductive cloning are examined in detailed. Similarly, the ethics of therapeutic cloning, both for and against, are closely discussed.
The book concludes with public policy options and recommendations. Finally, thirteen Council members contribute personal statements on the proceedings. These include William Hurlbut, Charles Krauthammer, Gilbert Meilaender and William May. In these statements the various authors are allowed to express personal preferences, disagreements, or endorsements of the Council report. Many of these alone are worth the price of the book.
But as I mentioned, the great majority of Council members seem to have a strong ethical basis on which they make their pronouncements. Thus the report, while allowing various sides to be heard, often gives room for extensive moral reasoning and reflection.
For example, in the discussion on cloning for research, the Council acknowledges that we should not ignore the needs of the suffering, but even this must be kept in balance: "the relief of suffering, though a great good, is not the greatest good". It continues, "As highly as we value health and longer life, we know that life itself loses its value if we care only for how long we live, and not also for how we live."
On the issue of the moral status of the human embryo, again, differing points of view are expressed. But it does deserve special respect, and should not be treated as a means to another's end. It is more than a clump of cells, and it clearly is the means by which all of us began. The report recommends that all embryo research be subject to a new and thorough review and be part of a larger regulatory scheme.
Because this report is a collection of viewpoints, and an assemblage of differing options and proposals, it cannot come out with clear-cut and definite conclusions. But the overall direction and tone of the report is one of balance, prudence and caution. It realises the limitations of science and medicine, and recognises the importance of a comprehensive ethical underpinning of any discussion on the issue. It thus makes for an important contribution to the overall debate.
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5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
A collection of opinions with no firm ethical foundation., March 27, 2004
Reviewer: Lee Carlson (Saint Louis, Missouri USA) - See all my reviews
The subject of human cloning has gained considerable press recently, due mainly to claims made by various individuals in successfully producing a human clone. These claims have remained unjustified, due to the refusal of these individuals to permit their scientific verification. The successful birth of a healthy human clone would be a major achievement, both from a scientific standpoint, and from an ethical one. It would give humans yet another option of how they are to reproduce themselves, and far from demeaning or devaluing human life, would actually celebrate it. There is no question that the first human clones will be viewed as somewhat of a novelty by many, but like all other humans born as the result of advances in technology, such as in vitro fertilization, they will be accepted as another unique and valuable addition to the human species, deserving of every legal right and every measure of respect.
Having unique fingerprints does not distinguish us as individuals, only our achievements do. It is the total contributions we have made in the entire span of our lives that distinguishes us as individuals. But Leon Kass, the main author of this book, and the chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics, has chosen the fingerprint as its focal point. Indeed, in the first sentence in the forward, he states that "the fingerprint has rich biological and moral significance", and that it "signifies our unique personal identity." It is ironic perhaps that he has chosen to address the issue of human cloning by beginning with a purely physical characterization of human individuality. Why worry about how different we are from others anyway? If a handful of clones, all with the same fingerprints, make brilliant contributions to humanity, should we not celebrate this? And if a physical attribute is needed to differentiate us as individuals, then should not human clones be regarded as unique by reference to the way they came into this world, i.e. by asexual reproduction?
The main virtue of this book is that it omits the vituperation that frequently accompanies discussion of genetic engineering and human cloning. It addresses the main issues calmly, without hype and without personal attacks against those who advocate the genetic engineering of or cloning of human beings. It does however present a very narrow view of the ethical philosophy behind the technology of genetic engineering. The authors cannot seem to find a sound ethical framework in which to speak. Utilitarian considerations behind reproductive cloning for example are abandoned, and are to be replaced with a "different frame of reference". The Council Members (interesting use of capital letters here) though never articulate in detail just what this ethical "frame of reference" is, but only seek a "deeper meaning" in that act of human procreation, which in their view will then give meaning to the raising of children.
The reproductive cloning of humans has, interestingly, a certain shock value for the council members (no caps are needed). It, to them, is the "most unusual, consequential, and most morally important" of the ways of bringing children into the world. Why indeed is this so? If the council members were suddenly to find several children in the world that were brought into the world as a result of cloning, would they find these children that much different than any other children born as the result of "ordinary" reproduction? The actions taken to produce cloned children are certainly different than taken to produce "ordinary" children, but will the children themselves be any different in terms of their humanity? Cloned children will play in the sand box, get into fights with each other, face the same struggles, and require the same kind of nurturing as any other children. The moral significance of the actions taken to voluntarily produce children shrink in comparison to their value as humans.
It is perhaps ironic that the council members believe that sexual procreation gives each human being a "sense of individual identity". They inadvertently express a belief that genetic structure is primarily responsible for making humans unique as individuals. Genes and not life experiences and the accumulated wisdom obtained from these experiences are believed by the council members to have great weight in determining our uniqueness as individuals. They don't believe in total genetic determinism though, as further analysis of the book reveals, but their emphasis on the genetic makeup is actually quite surprising given their anti-cloning stance. It is usually the technophilic pro-cloning groups who over-emphasize the role of genetics. One can safely bet though that both the council members and these groups would forget their differences if they saw a lovely cloned human child in a crib, one that is deserving of all the warmth and care that should be given to any other human on this planet.
Stem cell research has complicated the cloning debate, and with the announcement last month of promising work involving pluripotent human embryonic stem cell cells derived from a cloned blastocyst, and with the reorganization of the President's Council of Bioethics to make it more anti-cloning and anti-stem cell in its beliefs, one can certainly expect much more contention in the near future. Scientists, geneticists, and genetic engineers must make sure their work and its ethical justification are not left to the sometimes myopic and unjustified opinions such as can be found in this book. The members of the Council of Bioethics do not speak for everyone, and any authority regarding scientific or ethical matters imputed to them is incorrect. Any advice they give is purely their own personal opinion, a result of their own biases and personal history. As such it does not have moral or legal binding for anyone.
Next
Leon R. Kass, M.D., P.h.D., is chairman of the 'President' George W. Bush's Council on Bioethics. This book was intelligently written without any reference to religion but the whole underlying message was "Do not touch Gods property even if it means healing the sick." These religious fundamentalists will do anything to STUNT us in our pursuits of happiness. This guy is for KEEPING PARALYZED PEOPLE PARALYZED. "Dr." Kass is for KEEPING AMPUTEES AMPUTATED. He's for KEEPING the depressed and suicidal DEPRESSED AND SUICIDAL. Ill spare you the bull and say what Dr. Kass really wants to say - "I want you to follow Jesus with all your heart no matter how much pain and suffering you are in. If God made you depressed than thats how you should be. If God made you paralyzed then thats how you should be. If you are miserable in your existance then thats obviously how God wants you to be and thats how you will be with our new conservative laws that will effectively ban progress to help people". For this is the ONLY real argument you can use to support the banning of progress designed to help humans. - He wants everyone to follow the 'divine' rule of sanctity of life, not quality of life - an ugly ethic for a very stupid man.
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I found this report to be invaluable in determining where some in the scientific community and many politicians and bureacrats stand on the subject of cloning and stem cell research.
If you favor such research, for whatever reason, whether it be the development of tissues for the cures of disease or for other reasons, the Human Cloning and Human Dignity report will definitely give you an idea regarding the ideology of those who composed the report. The position of many of the members is common and frequently theological in nature, with much of the discussion concerning the subject of the earliest cell divisions, before recognizable human features have developed.
The position against human cloning in the report is recognizable, honest, and thorough so someone hoping to change public opinion in favor of cloning and stem cell research can determine what they need to do to address public opinion on the subject.
I found the report very informative.
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This document is the first (and currently only) report of President Bush's 17-member Council on Bioethics. The issue is whether it is in society's best interest to continue research to develop perfectly transplant-tolerant tissues by exploiting the capability of stem cells to differentiate into cells of any tissue type. This includes liquid "tissue" such as blood and lymph cells, which hold promise for curing leukemias and lymphomas.
The members of the Council, all political appointees, split 10 to 7 against cloning for the purposes of research toward cures of disease. Not surprisingly, those members currently working as doctors or scientists tended to favor further research, including the development of new stem cell lines, as will ultimately be necessary for transplant tolerance, should research lead to new cures.
For some, the ethical problem arises because stem cells require the production of an egg, which, in principle, has the potential to become an adult human being. However, the 10 members making up the opposing majority tended to favor what some have called "slippery slope thinking." They worry about where man's efforts to play God will ultimately lead. In the report they draw an analogy between their doubts about continuing stem cell research using newly cloned cells, and drinking from a glass of wine whose rich color might conceal a spider.
The Council's Chairman states that the report fairly reflects the diverse views expressed by council members, for and against, during 6 months of inquiry, and I have no reason to quarrel with that assessment. However, I do not find the opposition of these two different world views -- which is essentially a difference between optimism and pessimism with respect to man's ability to control the worst impulses of those empowered by scientific success -- to constitute a particularly enlightening debate. To me, it evades the real question of whether the greater immorality is to deny the potential of the human life of a developing egg, or to deny the potential of a cure for a deadly disease.

by Stephen S. Hall
From Publishers Weekly
Drawing on scores of original interviews and contemporary source material,
Hall, a contributing writer and editor at the New York Times Magazine
Invisible Frontiers: The Race to Synthesize a Human Gene
gives a timely and engrossing account of the high-stakes science of life extension.
The author kicks off with the minence grise of the field, Leonard Hayflick, and his human cell line called WI-38, which opened the gates for biotech research and showed that our cells may have built-in limitations on longevity.
His WI-38 strain, taken from aborted fetus cells used to develop a polio vaccine, also became an ethical flash point that, as the author shows, has steered the course of biomedical research in aging, cancer, stem cells and cloning.
Here, too, are the repeated rise and fall of entrepreneur
Michael West, the idiosyncratic "lapsed creationist, born-again Darwinist,"
who merges his spiritual belief in immortality with big money science.
Hall aims to show how the Clinton administration's decision not to support therapeutic cloning and regenerative medicine represented government held hostage by "heavy-handed, ideological fundamentalism, enforced by anonymous thuggery."
The book wraps with President George W. Bush's decision in 2001 to allow stem-cell research to proceed, but only using already existing cell lines.
Among Hall's conclusions:
distrust of science is the subtext of the debate over embryonic stem cells and research cloning, and regenerative medicine is inevitably yoked to health-care limitations in access, affordability, timeliness and, Hall writes, "simply, good medicine."
He says the notion of "victory over mortality" is a canard, but we may be able to slow the aging process.
This is top-drawer journalism.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review Publishers Weekly
"A timely and engrossing account of the high-stakes science of life extension....This is top-drawer journalism." Newsday : "An important survey of the entire landscape of the science aimed at extending human life....we all owe [Hall] a vote of thanks." -- JoAnn C. Gutin The New York Times : "A fascinating, accurate and accessible account of some of [the] contemporary efforts to combat aging." -- Robert H. Binstock The Washington Post : "[C]ompelling . . . Merchants of Immortality is a highly readable and important book." -- Shannon Brownlee
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Hall is a fabulous writer, given to wonderful turns of phrase. He's also a meticulous researcher -- the "Notes" section of the book is gigantic, citing sources for even the most off-hand of remarks.
This is really two books in one
It begins discussing Leonard Hayflick and the discovery of programmed cell death, and the resulting search for the telomerase enzyme,
then it takes a pretty sharp right turn into being a book about stem-cell research.
Although some of the players are the same, they're really two different stories.
Hall's conclusion is that no rolling back of the clock is likely, and that "immortality," or even profound life extension, is probably not in the cards.
But it's a fascinating journey nonetheless, and well worth reading.
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So, when will stem cells come into widespread medical use?
If you answer twenty years from now, you'd be wrong by about 60 years -- they first became widely used in the 1960's! Only they were called "bone marrow transplants."
Today thousands of them are done every year.
Hall has written a dozen so excellent books on medicine, biotechnology and molecular biology, and this is one of the best. Here he recounts the development of the idea that aging in humans can be scientifically understood and modified. He starts off with the wonderful story of
the Hayflick limit
with an account of his first interview with him and brings this maverick character to life. How often are the big ideas discovered by rogues and rebels -- fearless men?
He covers a very wide swath of current developments in the cutting edge of biology and medicine -- telomeres, stem cells, transplants, cloning, and aging -- all told in enough depth that you can't help but learn something, even if you are pretty well informed.
The history, the personalities, and the ideas are all here.
One thing I appreciated is that Hall makes no pretense about being disinterested in the subject -- he takes some of it personally, and is not afraid to relate what his gut is telling him.
He is partisan in the best sense of the word.
He unflinchingly challenges the idealistic "bioethicists" who have lately ejected such nonsense into the public space, pretending to a certainty only a bishop could appreciate.
Hall also relates in some detail the evolution of the stem cell/cloning debate that has resulted in the policy that federal money can go to research only on the 70 embryonic stem cell lines already in existence, now known to be more like 6.
And none of them suitable for therapeutic for humans because they are grown on a substrate of mouse cells and their viruses.
The yokels and theologians
have managed to set back this important avenue
for improving human health by who knows how many decades...
Sad to think we'll be looking for progress to the South Koreans, who recently generated human embryonic cell lines by nuclear transfer.
Americans have yet to duplicate this
The quality of Hall's prose, and the nature of the subject itself,
conspire to produce a book that I found very hard to put down.
A terrific read!
Next
Stephen Hall has chosen a title that represents his book very well. What he sets forth, in supple, thoughtful, smoothly readable prose, is the saga of recent advances in "life extension" - both longevity research and research into the healing and regeneration of tissues with the aid of stem cells. As his title suggests, the emphasis is on the scientists involved, and on the public face of that science.
Along the way, he clarifies a good deal of the science itself:
the discovery of the Hayflick limit,
the finite limit to the number of times a normal cell can divide;
the connection of that limit to the telomeres,
the shoelace-tips on the ends of chromosomes;
the chimerical enzyme telomerase,
two parts protein and one part RNA,
which repairs the telomeres and helps make cancer cells immortal;
the sir-1 gene and its congeners which can double or sextuple your lifespan,
if you happen to be a roundworm.
And so on.
Little of this will be news to those laymen who follow the science pages closely, but even for us it's good to have the timeline neatly laid out.
The bulk of Hall's attention, though, goes to
the rivalries between laboratories to be first to publish
and patent each of these breakthroughs;
to the lineages of the biotech startups bankrolling the races;
to the contrast between the solid if limited gains made by the biologists and the fairy dust sprinkled on investors; and
to the enormous ferment surrounding all these new technologies
as they began to impinge on embryonic stem cells and thereapeutic cloning.
Wandering through the scene from chapter to chapter,
popping up repeatedly whenever the action gets hot,
is the energetic true believer Michael West,
the ousted founder of the premiere telomere outfit Geron,
and the leading light of Advanced Cell Technology,
which set the country on its ear two years ago with a premature announcement that it had cloned a human embryo.
In his infectious zeal for abolishing the tyranny of old age,
West serves not only as a central figure in the unfolding commercial and political saga,
but as a stand-in for the insistent voice in all of us,
whispering that all men may be mortal, but hey, maybe "you" can beat the rap.
Hall's conclusion, offered with a full appreciation of the fact that
"It's hard to predict things, especially the future,"
is that a dramatic cure for aging is not likely to be in the cards.
Just as cancer turned out to be a whole class of diseases with a host of different causes, so aging is turning out to be more complex than the discipline's pioneers imagined.
What we can reasonably expect is a steady advancement of the average life span over the coming century, by another decade or two.
How long we have to wait for breakthroughs in tissue regeneration in particular will likely depend less on science than on politics.
Two intriguing lines of lifespan research,
the one tracking the sir family of genes, and
the one investigating the effects of free radicals,
are not ignored but, perhaps because they haven't caught the public fancy sharply, get relatively short shrift.
Less than halfway through the book, the spotlight shifts from
the study of aging to the study of stem cells.
Because the U.S. for the last quarter century has enjoyed an effective moratorium on experimentation with aborted fetuses or discarded IVC embryos, American scientists' attention has focused more and more on the other theoretical way of obtaining human embryos:
inserting the nucleus of an adult cell into an enucleated human egg.
If anyone were to succeed in doing that, and coaxing the result to divide until it reached the blastocyst stage - that would be "therapeutic cloning."
So far, no one's done it, or at any rate no one who's done it has felt like advertising it.
In a political squaring of the circle, President Bush managed to permit NIH to fund limited therapeutic cloning in a way that ended up outlawing funding in practical terms.
As a result, scientists in the field face the classic NRA nightmare:
when federal stem cells are outlawed,
only maverick venture capitalists will have stem cells.
At press time, no one knows what's really happening,
what kind of ethical oversight private companies are bothering to put in place, or
how restricted access to resulting medical breakthroughs will be
when it's all proprietary, with no NIH ownership at all.
For the moment, the U.S. is stuck with the worst of
the "pro-life" and the "mad scientist" worlds,
while the rest of the world does its research in the sunlight and steals a technical march on us.
All the players on both sides of that circle-squaring, and the principal shakers, movers and move-blockers in the relevant research, are profiled here, some in full screen 3-D and some in fetching thumbnails.
The field is unlikely to be surveyed by a more complete or more even handed chronicler for some while.
Next
If you're looking for a book describing what it's like to be a research scientist in the academic world, or if you're looking for a detailed history of stem cell politics, this book is for you.
However, if you're looking for cutting-edge science, exciting discoveries, and an up-to-date look at the modern day "quest for the fountain of youth" - look elsewhere.
You may eventually find some of it,
but not without wading through pages of tedious "personal struggles."
This book fits far more easily into the "Biography" genre than the "Popular Science" category.

Book Description
This interdisciplinary collection of essays deals with the moral issues associated with stem cell research.
Book Info
Georgia State Univ., Atlanta, GA. Offers objective coverage on stem cell research. Discusses the analogical argument for stem cell research, marginal cases and moral status of embryos, Nazi experiments and stem cell research, and more. All addresses current regulations.
DNLM: Embryo Research -- ethics