The stem cell divide : the facts, the fiction, and the fear driving the greatest scientific, political, and religious debate of our time / Michael Bellomo.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 233-241) and index.

Discovery of the stem cell's unique abilities -- Morning on the devil's highway -- Head of the hydra -- The furnace of creation -- The ugliest thing in medicine -- The starter culture -- The race to harness the power of life -- California dreaming -- Investing in hope and hype -- From Roe to Dickey -- Division on the hill -- Stem cell superpowers -- The rise and fall of South Korea's cloning king -- Stem cell cures and curses -- Therapeutic cloning and regenerative medicine -- Resolving the debate: adult vs. embryonic stem cells -- Germ of an idea -- Needles and haystacks -- Banking on cord blood -- So close and yet so far -- A future built on the smallest piece of life -- The mitochondrial barrier -- Cautionary tales: the coming stem cell decade -- Epilogue: the coming stem cell century.