Basic Science of Stem Cell Biology

This book will introduce the essential developmental biology and cell biology background to the topic of stem cells. It will explain the basics of embryonic development, cell differentiation, and the essential cell biology processes of signaling, gene expression and cell division. It will also cover techniques of studying cell properties and cell lineage in vivo and in vitro.

Stem cell biology is very focused on applications and therapies, and practitioners are usually ignorant of the developmental biology foundations of the subject. This can lead to serious errors such as a belief that mesenchymal stem cells can rebuild hearts and brains, or that pluripotent cells can be isolated from adult organisms. This book aims to cover the basics of this topic.