Stem Cell Now: From the Experiment that Shook the World to the New Politics of Life

Why don’t anti-abortion activists picket fertility clinics? Why is the term “therapeutic cloning” actually misleading? This highly accessible book covers basic definitions needed to understand advances in stem-cell research—and its controversies. Starting with the basic descriptions of cell division and the first few stages of embryo formation, with just a few simple but helpful illustrations, Scott explains what you missed in biology class. From there, he gives a clear summary of the premises behind the arguments for and against some types of stem-cell research. Giving a snapshot of the state of the science as of mid-2005 or so, Scott also clarifies how many of the promises made for stem cells are still just hype and probably will be for several years into the future.