The Golden Cell: Gene Therapy, Stem Cells, and the Quest for the next Great Medical Breakthrough

Alan Belk is a sessional instructor in the Philosophy Department at the
University of Guelph.

The Golden Cell is a fine example of popular science, which I would
define as books, movies, and TV shows that make scientific research and
its results available and accessible to the public.

Van Kampen writes in a fast-paced journalistic style to present the
state of research into the focal point of biogenetics: stem cells. In
humans, these cells seem to possess the ability to become any sort of
cell in the body: blood cells, muscle, bone, liver, or brain. So if we
can control them, we can regenerate anything in the body that wears out
or fails due to some genetic predisposition—hence eternal life. The
problem is that the best source of stem cells is an embryo, and those
who believe that an embryo has the status of a human being find it
reprehensible to treat one as if it were a crop to be harvested.

As the author makes clear, the issues are many and large—as are the
stakes—when it comes to efforts to clone humans, patent people, cure
cancer, and prevent aging, among other activities. In their eagerness to
accomplish a scientific goal, scientists tend to ignore many of the
ramifications of their work. By describing scientific breakthroughs such
as the sequencing of the human genome, or the identification of the gene
for cystic fibrosis, van Kampen shows that each is just a small step
toward solving the whole puzzle—reading the book of life.