Stem cells are the focus of intense interest from a growing, multidisciplinary community of investigators with new tools for isolating and characterizing these elusive cell types. This volume, which features contributions from many of the world's leading laboratories, provides a uniquely broad and authoritative basis for understanding the biology of stem cells and the current excitement about their potential for clinical exploitation. It is an essential work of reference for investigators in embryology, hematology, and neurobiology, and their collaborators in the emerging field of regenerative medicine.

"This book considers the rich evolutionary and developmental complexity of stem cells in chapters ranging from yeasts to people, embryos to adults, and all three layers of the developing embryo-mesoderm, ectoderm and endoderm. The editors have done an excellent job of recruiting distinguished authors, including veteran leaders in the field such as Brigid Hogan and Austin Smith, and younger stars such as Markus Grompe. As a result, the book is strong on credibility and perspective. Each chapter is consistently written in a way that is accessible to the non-specialist. This is therefore a very good book both for newcomers to stem-cell biology and for experts looking for new ideas by broadening their perspective... .

If the future of basic stem-cell biology depends on our ability to integrate our understanding of different stem-cell systems, and if the future of applied stem-cell biology depends on our ability to explain the field to non-specialists, then this book is a welcome step into the future."

-Nature