Pt. I Discovery of the stem cell's unique abilities
1 Morning on the devil's highway 7
2 Head of the Hydra 19
3 The furnace of creation 31
4 The ugliest thing in medicine 41
5 The starter culture 51
Pt. II The race to harness the power of life
6 California dreaming 65
7 Investing in hope and hype 75
8 From Roe to Dickey 87
9 Division on the Hill 97
10 Stem cell superpowers 107
11 The rise and fall of South Korea's cloning king 119
Pt. III Stem cell cures and curses
12 Therapeutic cloning and regenerative medicine 133
13 Resolving the debate : adult vs. embryonic stem cells 143
14 Germ of an idea 153
15 Needles and haystacks 159
16 Banking on cord blood 167
17 So close and yet so far 175
18 Cautionary tales : the coming stem cell decade 197
20 Epilogue : the coming stem cell century 207
App. A Protocols and nutrient mixes for culturing human cells 219
App. B The California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative : selected text from California Proposition 71