The Global Stem Cell Race is On in Book, "The Stem Cell Dilemma"

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Leo Furcht and William Hoffman and Skyhorse Publishing have announced the second edition of "The Stem Cell Dilemma."

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120104/CG29738)

Stem cells offer the hope of creating or repairing tissues lost to age, disease and injury. Because of their powerful abilities, interest in stem cells spans the spectrum from personal health to the economic health of countries around the world. Stem cells also hold the potential to incite an international biological arms race. "The Stem Cell Dilemma" appeals to a lay audience and is essential reading for anyone intrigued by the stem cell debate.

In the second edition of "The Stem Cell Dilemma" (Arcade Publishing, October 2011), medical scientist and physician Dr. Leo Furcht and medical editor William Hoffman update their comprehensive and balanced exploration of the science and controversy behind stem cell research. In addition to explaining in clear non-technical language what stem cells are, how they work and why their use has become so controversial, Hoffman and Furcht analyze the latest scientific, clinical, legislative and legal developments in the field. "Stem cells hold promise for revolutionary new medical treatments of deadly diseases including Parkinson's, heart disease, stroke and diabetes," said Furcht. "Medical use of stem cells could inhibit the complications of aging and improve the treatment of Alzheimer's."

Stem cell-based medicine made its debut more than forty years ago in the form of life-saving bone marrow transplants. Today, research on stem cells has enabled blind mice to see, paralyzed rats to walk and people to have their diseased tissues and organs rebuilt with their own cells. The field of regenerative medicine that stem cell research makes possible is poised to provide effective treatment for many genetic and chronic diseases and for organ failure. But all the hope and promise of these regenerative cells is tempered by the deep fear many people have that, instead of helping humanity, stem cells derived from early-stage human embryos will lead to our moral collapse.

"The Stem Cell Dilemma" foreword was written by Brock Reeve, brother of the late Christopher Reeve and executive director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. "No area of biological research in the past decade has so captured our imagination as stem cell science, which the general public and the scientific community alike believe holds great promise for future therapies for disease and traumatic injury," said Reeve.

The global stem cell race is on. From the inexorable advance of stem cell research in Asia to its growing use by the U.S. Department of Defense in its efforts to counter the threat of potential bioweapons, "The Stem Cell Dilemma" describes how we are just beginning to grapple with the promise of revolutionary stem-cell treatments and the dangers posed by emerging biological technologies when they get into the wrong hands.

Kirkus Reviews gives "The Stem Cell Dilemma" high marks, saying, "Stem cells possess the power to regenerate and repair body tissue, Furcht and Hoffman (both: Laboratory Medicine and Pathology/Univ. of Minnesota Medical School) remind us. A timely, levelheaded investigation of stem cell medicine...Nothing is starry-eyed in this plainspoken, well-tuned text."

About the Authors

Leo T. Furcht, MD, is Allen-Pardee professor and chairman of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Minnesota Medical School and chairman of the board of directors, University of Minnesota Physicians. Dr. Furcht is past president of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), the nation's largest coalition of biomedical researchers representing 24 scientific societies and more than 100,000 researchers from around the world. Dr. Furcht holds several key patents in the stem cell field.

William Hoffman has been a writer and editor at the University of Minnesota Medical School for more than twenty-five years, working closely with researchers in cell biology, genetics, and bioengineering. He has created a series of Web-based global bioscience maps that show how competition in science and business affects ethics, policymaking, and economic development.

THE STEM CELL DILEMMA, Second Edition
The Scientific Breakthroughs, Ethical Concerns, Political Tensions, and Hope Surrounding Stem Cell Research
By Leo Furcht, MD, and William Hoffman; Foreword by Brock Reeve
Arcade Publishing Paperback Reprint
ISBN: 978-1-61145-352-2 /20 Color Photographs / Price: $16.95

Book and e-book available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and others. E-book formats include Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Nook and others.

Book website: http://www.stemcelldilemma.com/

For information contact:
Roepke Public Relations
Ben Heinemann
[email protected]
612.677.1717
Katherine Roepke
[email protected]

SOURCE Dr. Leo Furcht and William Hoffman