Stem Cell Wars: Inside Stories from the Frontline
By Eve Herold*
According to stem cell research expert Eve Herold, the general public have become the victims of misinformation about this essential science. Over the last few years, the stem cell debate has been intensely political, religious, global, and confusing to many people. Now, Herold explains to a general audience what this science is all about, who is for and against it, and why it must go forward. In this startling book, Herold pulls together fascinating stories to highlight every aspect of this multifaceted field. She exposes the politics of stem cell research and demonstrates how these forces will intimately affect everyone. Packed with real-life stories of the people caught up in this groundbreaking struggle, Stem Cell Wars is a call to arms that will provoke debate and discussion for years to come.
Watch Eve Herold on Comedy Central's "The Today Show with John Stewart": Part 1 | Part 2
Amazon Review info:
"Comprehensive and concise, Stem Cell Wars provides an indispensable primer for anyone interested in what promises to be the most significant medical science breakthrough in our lifetime. It should also serve as a timely antidote to the politically inspired misinformation surrounding this important issue." Ron Reagan
"Eve Herold is a latter-day Edward R. Murrow. She's everywhere at once: behind closed doors on Capitol Hill, beside the scientists and the suffering patients they hope to save, even to South Korea where a fraud of historic proportions threatened to end the great promise of regenerative medicine. Her sympathies are unwaveringly with the patients - whose stories are the warm heart of this timely and disturbing book." Daniel Perry, Past President, Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, and Executive Director, Alliance for Aging Research
"Herold is an eyewitness to history. She chronicles the battle of patients and researchers to advance the greatest medical breakthrough of our lifetimes in this highly readable account of the rancorous public policy debate that has become the #1 wedge issue in American politics. As part of the chronicle of the world stem cell debate, Herold presents the inside story of Woo Suk Hwang and the Korean cloning scandal, and supplies the shocking details about the misconduct that rocked all of medical science." Bernard Siegel, Executive Director, Genetics Policy Institute
"Herold's reporter-like style is effective as she shifts through various layers of the science and the social and religious controversies and provides an easily followed time frame of the major discoveries and events over the past decade in stem cell research, including the most recent revelation of scientific fraud in producing patient-specific embryonic stem cells. The issues with stem cell research are complex and Eve Herold is successful in presenting them in an easily understood fashion." John Gearhart, Johns Hopkins Medicine (see Institute for NanoBioTechnology)
"An outstanding science writer, Herold makes the issues clear in a fascinatingly readable style. Engaging and clearly written, a must-have book..." Don C. Reed, Chairman, Californians for Cures
Stem Cell Wars is available from Amazon Astore UK | US)
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See "Religious Right Falsehoods Slammed in Eve Herold's 'Stem Cell Wars: Inside Stories from the Frontlines'":
Stem Cell Wars reveals a number of untold stories about the stem cell policy wars, including:
The inside story of the Bush Administration and the religious right's attempt to ban stem cell research (nuclear transfer) worldwide by global treaty in the United Nations and how they almost pulled it off, but for the surprising fight waged by determined grassroots stem cell activists.
A minority of religious organizations have created the illusion that being anti-research is the only view of the religious community. Nothing could be further from the truth.
How social-conservative organizations are turning the U.S. into a second-tier nation in scientific research.
What the anti-stem cell research activists don't want you to know: that embryonic stem cell research could go forward full steam ahead without there ever being another abortion.
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Read a review of Stem Cell Wars:
"Over the eight year history of human embryonic stem cell research, many have come to realize the potential, many understand the impact, but nobody has offered a broadly based, comprehensive assembly of information, critical to patients and their families. That is until now."
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*Eve Herold is Director of Public Policy Research and Education at the Genetics Policy Institute:
"Leading the global cause of stem cell research"
The Genetics Policy Institute (GPI) is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing a positive legal framework to advance stem cell research. GPI maintains science and legal advisory boards comprised of leading stem cell researchers, disease experts, ethicists and legal experts and a dedicated full-time staff of policy experts that are available to educate the public and media on stem cell issues.
Hundreds of millions of people worldwide suffer from diseases, injuries and birth defects that could potentially be cured through stem cell treatments. These conditions include cancer, heart disease, ALS, spinal cord injury, osteoarthritis, diabetes, blindness, AIDS, brain injury, severe burns, autoimmune disease, kidney, liver and lung disease, and many others. In fact, any disease that involves the degeneration or death of some type of specialized cell could possibly benefit from stem cell transplants.
Funding restrictions in the United States and proposals to ban and criminalize aspects of the research have created major roadblocks to the advancement of potentially lifesaving treatments. GPI leads the charge to defend the rights of patients and for the preservation of scientific freedom against well-funded opposition groups.
GPI is the catalyst of the "Pro-Cures Movement," a global coalition of pro-research stakeholders. Through GPI's meetings, publications, press relations, web site, speaker's bureau and teaching initiatives, GPI educates the public, media and key decision-makers on critical issues. We analyze the law and regulations relating to all aspects of regenerative medicine with an eye to removing bottlenecks, while maintaining rigorous ethical oversight.
The Genetics Policy Institute was the principal global organizer of a coalition that successfully defended vital stem cell research against an anti-research United Nations treaty, which sought to impose a worldwide ban on somatic cell nuclear transfer. GPI convened the world's preeminent scientists for a conference at the UN to educate the delegations about stem cell issues. We organized landmark summits of scientists, bioethicists and advocacy groups at Baylor College of Medicine and Stanford University where we formulated strategies to promote the cause.
GPI's special educational project is the Student Society for Stem Cell Research (SSSCR), which started with a single university student in 2003 and has grown into a network of more than 1,500 students in 15 countries, 35 states and 20 chapters at colleges and universities. Each chapter of SSSCR creates educational programming on the promise of stem cell research.
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Recent posts on Stem Cells:
"Scientists discover stage at which an embryonic cell is fated to become a stem cell"
"How does a zebrafish grow a new tail?"
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Books on Stem Cells from the Science and Evolution Bookshop: UK | US
