The makings of future news headlines about tomorrow's life saving therapies starts in the biomedical research laboratory. Ideas abound; early sucesses and later failures and knowledge gained from both; the rare lightning bolt of an unexpected breakthrough discovery — this is a glimpse of the behind the scenes action of some of the world's most acclaimed stem cell scientists' quest to solve some of the human body's most challenging mysteries.

Stem cells — what lies ahead? The following chapters explore some of the cutting edge research featuring stem cells. Disease and disorders with no therapies or at best, partially effective ones, are the lure of the pursuit of stem cell research. Described here are examples of significant progress that is a prologue to an era of medical discovery of cell-based therapies that will one day restore function to those whose lives are now challenged every day — but perhaps in the future, no longer.

Contents
(PDF files, Please download your harddish and then read them)
 Preface
 Executive Summary
 Chapter 1: The Stem Cell
 Chapter 2: The Embryonic Stem Cell
 Chapter 3: The Human Embryonic Stem Cell and The Human Embryonic Germ Cell
 Chapter 4: The Adult Stem Cell
 Chapter 5: Hematopoietic Stem Cells
 Chapter 6: Autoimmune Diseases and the Promise of Stem Cell-Based Therapies
 Chapter 7: Stem Cells and Diabetes
 Chapter 8: Rebuilding the Nervous System with Stem Cells
 Chapter 9: Can Stem Cells Repair a Damaged Heart?
 Chapter 10: Assessing Human Stem Cell Safety
 Chapter 11: Use of Genetically Modified Stem Cells in Experimental Gene Therapies
 
 Appendix A: Early Development
 Appendix B: Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells
 Appendix C: Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Embryonic Germ Cells
 Appendix D: Stem Cell Tables
  i. Published Reports on Isolation and Differentiation of Mouse Stem Cells
  ii. Published Reports on Isolation and Differentiation of Human Fetal Tissue Germ Cells
  iii. Published Reports on Isolation and Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells
  iv. Published Reports on Isolation and Differentiation of Human Embryonic Carcinoma Stem Cells
  v. Published Reports on Isolation and Differentiation of Human Adult Stem Cells
  vi. References
 Appendix E: Stem Cell Markers
  i. Markers: How Do Researchers Use Them to Identify Stem Cells?
  ii. Commonly Used Markers to Identify Stem Cells and Characterize Differentiated Cell Types
 Appendix F: Glossary and Terms
  i. Glossary
  ii. Terms
 Appendix G: Informational Resources
  i. Persons Interviewed
  ii. Special Contributions
  iii. Acknowledgments

Reference citations of this report should use the following:

Stem Cells: Scientific Progress and Future Research Directions.
Department of Health and Human Services. June 2001. http://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/scireport.htm