Human Stem Cell Manual: A Laboratory Guide 2nd Edition

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs: embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells) have captured the interest of basic and clinical research scientists worldwide. These remarkable cells have the ability to not only self-renew but also to differentiate into virtually every cell type in the body. These qualities make hPSCs potentially useful for a broad range of applications, including understanding human development and disease, improving drug discovery and development pipelines, and therapeutic applications such as replacement or repair of diseased and damaged tissues.

This manual is a comprehensive compilation of “methods that work” for deriving, characterizing, and differentiating hPSCs, written by the researchers who developed and tested the methods and use them every day in their laboratories. The manual is much more than a collection of recipes; it is intended to spark the interest of scientists in areas of stem cell biology that they may not have considered to be important to their work. The editors chose a range of subjects that are critical to stem cell research worldwide, and introduce each chapter by discussing the importance of the information in the broad context of stem cell biology. They also include chapters on the legal and ethical issues that affect stem cell research and researchers. To emphasize the interrelatedness of the information in the book as a whole, the editors include cross-references in each chapter that guide the reader to other chapters that may be of interest.

The second edition of the Human Stem Cell Manual is an extraordinary laboratory guide for both experienced stem cell researchers and those just beginning to use stem cells in their work.