Christopher Thomas Scott

Publication Details

• Stem Cell Now: A brief introduction to the coming medical revolution

  Christopher Thomas Scott, Penguin/Plume, New York: ISBN: 0-13-173798-8. 2006

  The stem cell is set to dominate popular awareness of science like the atom bomb did a generation ago. No area of science holds such immediate promise for treating disease and improving human lives as stem cell research. But no area of science also causes such fundamental ethical concern and such ferocious political conflict. Christopher Scott reveals the science behind the stem cell revolution, from the landmark discovery of human embryonic stem cells to the latest research. He begins with how stem cells work; their role in the development and upkeep of the human body; and the differences between embryonic and adult stem cells. He then takes readers to the frontlines of this new science, introducing the men and women who are creating a new biotechnology and revealing their quests: Are there ultra-rare adult stem cells as powerful as embryonic stem cells? Can stem cells reveal the secrets of cancer, rendering it reversible? Can we transplant an immune system? How soon can we grow nerves and organs in the lab? The realm of possibility is exploding. New science often provokes a redefinition of ethical standards. Stem cells have reignited the debate about the moral status of an embryo, and new rules are being created to govern the new technology. Scott clearly explains the arguments for and against the use of embryonic stem cells. He leaves the shrill rhetoric of both sides behind, leading readers through a discussion of the question at the heart of the debate: How, as a society, do we balance our responsibilities to the unborn and the sick? As leading academics, doctors, businessmen, government leaders, and curious readers are finding, Stem Cell Now is the book to read on the most socially and culturally important scientific development of our time.