Revolutionary Therapies

For author Don C Reed, father of a paralyzed son, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) is the greatest medical advance since penicillin._x000d_
REVOLUTIONARY THERAPIES is Reed's third book about the $3 billion stem cell program._x000d_
Voted into law in November 2004, CIRM is now running out of money._x000d_
Should its funding be renewed? Thereby hangs a tale, or rather several dozen of them, for each of the book's 71 short chapters is framed by a yarn or vignette._x000d_
The factual background is accurate, vetted by the scientists, but Reed's goal is clearly both entertainment and education._x000d_
A favorite example is a little girl named Evie, imprisoned in a plastic bubble: her body's immune system did not work, and she would die outside. She joined a CIRM clinical trial Imagine how Evie's parents felt — when she got well._x000d_
Some stories are comical, like "How Stem Cell Research Saved My Car"; others surprising, like the comparison between politics and the giant crocodile Gustave; others are tragic or inspiring: but all point to this: