This popular science book systematically introduces major scientific and technological achievements in the field of cells and stem cells, and the conveniences they bring to human life. It covers plant cloning, animal cloning, human cloning, biological missiles, biological drugs, immunocytotherapy, stem cell therapy, stem cell bank, 4D printing, 5D printing, CAR-T technology, and other frontier fields, which reflect the latest progresses and development trends of life sciences. The book is both interesting and rich in information, revealing the magic and mystery of life sciences.

This popular science book systematically introduces major scientific and technological achievements in the field of cells and stem cells, and the conveniences they bring to human life. It covers plant cloning, animal cloning, human cloning, biological missiles, biological drugs, immunocytotherapy, stem cell therapy, stem cell bank, 4D printing, 5D printing, CAR-T technology, and other frontier fields, which reflect the latest progresses and development trends of life sciences. The book is both interesting and rich in information, revealing the magic and mystery of life sciences.

Stem cell research has been a problematic endeavour. For the past twenty years it has attracted moral controversies in both the public and the professional sphere. The research involves not only laboratories, clinics and people, but ethics, industries, jurisprudence, and markets. Today it contributes to the development of new therapies and affects increasingly many social arenas. The matrix approach introduced in this book offers a new understanding of this science in its relation to society. The contributions are multidisciplinary and intersectional, illustrating how agency and influence between science and society go both ways. Conceptually, this volume presents a situated and reflexive approach for philosophy and sociology of the life sciences. The practices that are part of stem cell research are dispersed, and the concepts that tie them together are tenuous; there are persistent problems with the validation of findings, and the ontology of the stem cell is elusive. The array of applications shapes a growing bioeconomy that is dependent on patient donations of tissues and embryos, consumers, and industrial support. In this volume it is argued that this research now denotes not a specific field but a flexible web of intersecting practices, discourses, and agencies. To capture significant parts of this complex reality, this book presents recent findings from researchers, who have studied in-depth aspects of this matrix of stem cell research. This volume presents state-of-the-art examinations from senior and junior scholars in disciplines from humanities and laboratory research to various social sciences, highlighting particular normative and epistemological intersections. The book will appeal to scholars as well as wider audiences interested in developments in life science and society interactions. The novel matrix approach and the accessible case studies make this an excellent resource for science and society courses.

The handbook comprehensively reviews the therapeutic potential of stem cells and stem cell secretome-based cell-free strategies in regenerative medicine. The chapters in section I and section II respectively discuss the diverse applications of mesenchymal stem cells and non- mesenchymal stem cells, including skeletal myoblasts, endothelial progenitor cells, adipose tissue-derived stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and neuronal stem cells in myocardial repair, inflammatory bowel disease, cognitive deficits, wound healing, retinal disorders, and COVID-19. The subsequent chapters in section IIIprimarily focused on the fast-emerging cell-free therapy approach in regenerative medicine for tissue repair and regeneration. These chapters review the impact of stem cell-derived secretome on various biological processes such as angiogenesis, neurogenesis, tissue repair, immunomodulation, musculoskeletal pathologies, wound healing, anti-fibrotic, and anti-tumorigenesis for tissue maintenance and regeneration.Lastly, section IV summarizes miscellaneous aspects of cell-based therapy, includingthe treatment advantages, opportunities, and shortcomings in stem cell-based therapy, potentially helping to refine future studies and translate them from experimental to clinical studies. Moreover, this section also has chapters on cancer stem cells as novel targets in cancer therapeutics. This Major Reference Book (MRW) is a valuable resource for researchers involved in stem cell research to understand the multifaceted therapeutic applications of stem cells and their derivative secretome in regenerative medicine.​

The book covers multifarious aspects of stem cell-based therapy for cardiovascular diseases. In addition to stem cells from different sources for cell-based therapy, it covers stem cell organoids and stem cell-derived exosomes in regenerative medicine. The book also encompasses advances in state-of-the-art infrastructure to improve the maturation aspects of pluripotent stem cells-derived cardiomyocytes using a novel scaffold-based cell culture system for cell delivery in experimental animal models and clinical settings. Besides the use of mesenchymal stem cells, the book includes chapters on the use of cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs), microtissue implantation, use of PSCs for valvulopathies, application of de-cellularized organ arrays as natural scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering, use of epicardial stem cells, and skeletal myoblasts in cell-based therapy for myocardial regeneration. Besides the cell-based therapy approach, the book also reviews the stem cell-derived exosomes, their characteristics, and engineering strategies to enhance their therapeutic potential via targeting and drug loading and use in disease models. Additionally, the book also discusses the latest research on injectable hydrogels for cardiovascular regeneration and how hydrogel-based delivery protects the cells and their retention post-engraftment in the heart, a problem, which significantly reduces the efficacy of cell-based therapy.

This volume presents a collection of selected papers worked out for the XXth International Congress of History of Science held in July 1997 in Liege The first part analyzes interrelations between the exact sciences, chemistry and physics on the one hand, and life sciences on the other hand. It is well known that in many fields of biological sciences, mainly in those working with experimental methods, chemical and physical knowledge was integrated but the historic development of that interrelation is not yet known and cannot be explained enough in all details until the present day. By searching for the events in the past, historians of science find out that introducing physical and chemical methods and knowledge into life sciences was not a simple but very complex historical process. The second part was constructed during the centenary of E.B. Wilson's pioneering book The Cell in Development and Inheritance (1896), with an eye on this tradition of biological research. Wilson attempted to integrate cytology, embryology, and the chromosome theory of inheritance into a common cellular framework. It was only in the late 1970s that the synthesis now called cell biology, developmental biology and developmental genetics came into existence. The work carried out in Zurich under E. Hadorn's supervision was brought to light. Concepts and paths of research were defined, for example: homeosis, physiological genetics, 'body plans' allometry, homologies of process, evolution as 'bricolage' and finally a critical essay on different perspectives on development.

Since the birth of civilisation, human beings have manipulated other life-forms. We have selectively bred plants and animals for thousands of years to maximise agricultural production and cater to our taste in pets. The observation of the creation of artificial animal and plant variants was a key stimulant for Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The ability to directly engineer the genomes of organisms first became possible in the 1970s, when the gene for human insulin was introduced into bacteria to produce this protein for diabetics. At the same time, mice were modified to produce human growth hormone, and grew huge as a result. But these were only our first tottering steps into the possibilities of genetic engineering. In the past few years, the pace of progress has accelerated enormously. We can now cut and paste genes using molecular scissors with astonishing ease, and the new technology of genome editing can be applied to practically any species of plants or animals. 'Mutation chain reaction' can be used to alter the genes of a population of pests, such as flies; as the modified creatures breed, the mutation is spread through the population, so that within a few generations the organism is almost completely altered. At the same time, scientists are also beginning to synthesize new organisms from scratch. These new technologies hold much promise for improving lives. Genome editing has already been used clinically to treat AIDS patients, by genetically modifying their white blood cells to be resistant to HIV. In agriculture, genome editing could be used to engineer species with increased food output, and the ability to thrive in challenging climates. New bacterial forms may be used to generate energy. But these powerful new techniques also raise important ethical dilemmas and potential dangers, pressing issues that are already upon us given the speed of scientific developments. To what extent should parents be able to manipulate the genetics of their offspring — and would designer babies be limited to the rich? Can we effectively weigh up the risks from introducing synthetic lifeforms into complex ecosystems? In this extensively revised paperback edition, John Parrington explains the nature and possibilities of these new scientific developments, which could usher in a brave, new world. We must rapidly come to understand its implications if we are to direct its huge potential to the good of humanity and the planet.

One of the first studies of an exciting new development in global biotechnology, this cutting edge text examines the extent of the transnational movements of tissues, stem cells, and expertise, in the developing governance framework of India. Documenting the impact of local and global governance frames on the everyday conduct of research, this groundbreaking book traces the journey of ‘spare’ human embryos in IVF clinics to public and private laboratories engaged in isolating stem cells for potential therapeutic application. The discussion also examines the gender dimension as a potential site for exploitation in the sourcing of embryonic and other biogenic materials, and suggests that a moral economy has developed in which the ethical values of the global 'North' support and encourage the donation of abundant and ethically ‘neutral’ embryos by the 'South'. This unique exploration is grounded in an empirical, multi-sited ethnographic study that takes a thoroughly comparative analysis of the ethical, religious and social issues in Europe, the United States, and organ donations already prevalent in India. In this theoretically-sensitive analysis, the authors use the resources of social anthropology and the social sciences in an innovative text which will appeal to postgraduates and professionals in the areas of STS studies, genetics, bioethics, and anthropology.

This is the first book of its kind that treats reproduction, cloning, stem cell research and regenerative medicine in an integrative manner.Touching on the science, social aspects, legal and ethical issues, and the current status of cloning, stem cell research and regenerative medicine, this self-contained book is an excellent source for introducing newcomers to the field or broadening the perspectives of experts and practitioners.In contrast to existing books on the market, which treat each topic in isolation or sensationalize the areas, this book takes an integrative and balanced approach. The treatment is easy to grasp and clear illustrations, graphics and photos explain the key concepts. The book explains the diverse topics from a scientific angle, a social perspective, and as a natural business development. The coverage also includes the political and ethical issues as well as many other thought-provoking scenarios.