The SAGE Encyclopedia of Stem Cell Research

Stem cells are the engine rooms of multi-cellular organisms. While fascinating in and of themselves, they are also clearly fuelling excitement and potential in traditional areas of developmental biology and in the field of regenerative medicine, where they are believed to hold much promise in addressing any number of intractable medical conditions. However, along with exciting breakthroughs, frustration and controversies swirl through this rapidly moving area of research. What does the average person make of all this, and how can an interested scholar probe the vast sea of new information? The first edition of the , published in 2008, gave general readers a reference manual to gain a clear understanding of basic concepts in stem cell biology along with socio-political issues facing the field. Much has happened since the articles for the first edition were written in 2007, and to capture developments, the updated second edition will expand from two to three volumes and will present more than 470 articles (320 revised from the first edition, augmented by 150 entirely new) that explore major topics in ways accessible to non-scientists, thus bringing readers up-to-date with where stem cell biology stands today, including new and evolving ethical, religious, legal, social, and political perspectives.