The social debate involving the creation of human embryos for stem cell therapy prompted the writing of this text. The emerging field of human embryonic stem cell biomedicine crosses many disciplinary boundaries - cell biology, reproductive biology, embryology, molecular biology, endocrinology, immunology, fetal medicine, transplantation medicine and surgery. This single reference provides basic information from these multiple disciplines as it pertains to the science of stem cells.
The second edition of Live Cell Imaging: A Laboratory Manual expands upon and extends the collection of established and evolving methods for studying dynamic changes in living cells and organisms presented in the well-known first edition. There are 16 new chapters and the 21 updated chapters in this new edition. They include advances in atomic force microscopy, structured illumination microscopy and other 3-D approaches, as well as imaging in single cells in animals and in plants. New analytical options include live high-throughput/high-content screening in mammalian cells and computational analysis of live cell data. The manual presents hands-on techniques as well as background material, and can serve as a text in advanced courses. The first section covers principles and fundamental issues of detection and imaging; the second provides detailed protocols for imaging live systems.
Recent advances in imaging technology reveal, in real time and great detail, critical changes in living cells and organisms. This manual is a compendium of emerging techniques, organized into two parts: specific methods such as fluorescent labeling, and delivery and detection of labeled molecules in cells; and experimental approaches ranging from the detection of single molecules to the study of dynamic processes in organelles, organs, and whole animals. Although presented primarily as a laboratory manual, the book includes introductory and background material and could be used as a textbook in advanced courses. It also includes a CD containing movies of living cells in action, created by investigators using the imaging techniques discussed in the book.
Biological physics, the application of physics to provide an understanding of biological phenomena, is a new burgeoning subject. This explores the physics behind the architecture of a cell′s envelope and internal scaffolding, as well as the properties of its soft components. It discusses the properties of individual flexible polymers, networks and membranes, and then considers simple composite assemblages such as bacteria and synthetic cells. Analysis is performed within a consistent mathematical framework, although readers can navigate from the introductory material to biological applications without working through the intervening mathematics.
Recognized experts describe the most frequently used cellular, molecular, and electrophysiological methods to isolate, characterize, and utilize neural stem cells. These reproducible techniques introduce the various sources of stem/progenitor cells, provide a wide range of conditions for their culture, and make it possible to define their properties in culture. The techniques are designed to help researchers identify endogenous stem cells as well as exogenous stem cells after transplantation in the brain. Protocols range from the simplest methods of isolation and characterization of neural cell properties to such sophisticated methods as characterizing gene expression, telomerase assays, and cell cycle kinetics.
This survey the "state-of-the-science" of stem cell biology explains the origins of stem cells and describes 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.
