Customer Reviews

Cell of Cells: The Global Race to Capture and Control the Stem Cell

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There have been a number of books about stem cells. Some take a dry scientific approach, others have focused on the political-religious-legislative battles within the United States and how those disputes have forced research abroad.

This book, with its emphasis on places and personalities, breaks new ground as a science writer's travelogue. Cynthia Fox spent years jetting around the world, interviewing scientists, touring labs, and documenting discoveries while charting the social and geopolitical forces affecting the stem cell race. You feel what it's like to work in a lab. You can also feel the tensions, which is what ultimately makes this book a good read.

Fox had a riveting ringside seat to the famous Korean scandal. But there's much more here; one online reviewer called this an 'essential handicapper's guide', and it proves to be richly rewarding for the details on at least a half dozen other labs around the world, as well as on the proliferating third world quack clinics (which merit a whole chapter). At first I wondered about Fox's use of the frame narratives and cultural sketches, wondering if they were, strictly speaking, necessary; within fifty pages, however, I was won over by Fox's sense of balance and genuine grasp of the scientific challenges. She understands the range of the field. She definitely did her homework.

An impressive work of observation, Cell of Cells is a gentle introduction to a difficult subject, and a must-own for anyone working in the stem cell field. Cynthia Fox definitely caught the mood and atmosphere of the times.

A tell tale book recounting the most recent advances in stem cell treatments, focusing on advances that have been in translational research in the last 5 years.

Stem cell biology, arguably only a few decades old, has been gaining more steam in the research and clinical comminuties, with good reason. Much of the regenerative capabilities of both adult and embryonic (and more recently induced Pluripotent, or iPS) stem cells has allowed for new treatments for neurodegenrative disease, post cardiac arrest damage, and other diseases in which replenished cells are necessary. Cynthia Fox does a great job in taking the reader through the major centers of embyronic stem cell research (Egypt, Israel, South Korea, China, and a little in the United States) as well as those labs and clinics involved in adult stem cell therapies. In what is both an in depth look at the researchers AND the patients lives, along with the science taking place, the reader takes away the real sense of what can be done and is being done through stem cell research and therapies.

I am the co-founder of the Stem Cell Pioneers forum (www.stemcellpioneers.com) and therefore have an avid interest in reading all I can about stem cells, the Holy Grail, of medicine. The book is a difficult read at times, but I am learning a lot from it and thoroughly enjoying it. Stem cell research is moving along at such a fast clip, that I hope Ms. Fox will write a sequel which might include more information on the patient side of the story and how many of us are pioneering treatments, fighting corruption at the FDA and working hard for legalization for treatment with our own stem cells in the U.S. via a group called ASCTA (www.safestemcells.org) Ms. Fox has such a knowledge of the global race for the capture and control of the stem cell that she totally held me captive for each and every chapter. Well done, Ms. Fox!

I'm going to make this review to the point and what the book meant to me.

I picked up Cells of Cells with a minor interest in stem cell research; I come away now with an interest for my career goals/passions greatly embedded in this field of research. It has provided me with a lot of valuable information and incredible stories. This book has truly inspired me to look deeper into the subject and it's possibilities in the future.

I found the material to be well researched and reasonably complete. Obtaining information
from Russia,Israel, Central Europe and some Asian countries can be a little tricky. They
do not always disclose their complete experiments or their financial partners on the
other side of the globe but a fine job of reporting on a very sensitive subject. There
was no section on international egg harvesting which maybe the subject of the author's
next book ??