It’s summertime and the living is easy. At least it was before a global pandemic happened. Hopefully you still have vacation time planned and this post offers some ideas for your downtime. The following books and shows aren’t all brand new, but they haven’t been mentioned yet on Signals.
Books
I confess to not having read these books (yet), but I know the reputation of the authors and I’m confident these are all worth your time. The many reviews I read indicate the same.
Flesh Made New: The Unnatural History and Broken Promise of Stem Cells by Professor John Rasko and writer and historian Carl Power. Harper Collins describes it like this: “This book is an antidote to hype and a salve to soothe the itch for stem-cell salvation. In it, [the authors] take us on a wild historical tour of this scandal-prone field. They expose all the dirty little secrets that the hype merchants prefer to ignore – the blunders and setbacks, confusions and delusions, tricks and lies.” The description also mentions some of the people we’ll meet in the book – some honest, some questionable.
Co-written by a historian, the book reminds us “we can only know where we’re going if we have a sense of where we’ve been.” The narrative goes back 100 years to document Nobel-winning successes, but also “scandals, hype merchants, deceit, greed, laziness and lies.” Listen to the authors being interviewed about the book in this RNZ podcast. It sounds like summer reading to me!
How to How to Build a Dragon or Die Trying– A Satirical Look at Cutting-Edge Science is by father and daughter team Paul Knoepfler and Julie Knoepfler. I don’t know where our favourite stem cell blogger finds the time for everything he does, and it appears his teenage daughter, also a blogger, may be following in his footsteps.
Here is Nature’s review: “This co-authored book explores how advances in cell biology, CRISPR gene editing and bioengineering might be used to make a live dragon. The result is a gloriously tongue-in-check scientific epic … How to Build a Dragon or Die Trying is deliberately flamboyant and outrageous. It’s also funny and smart. Far from a how-to guide for ne’er-do-wells to weaponize reptiles, it is designed to spark healthy curiosity in anyone who enjoys a ripping good science read.”
When you’re done reading this one, you can share it with the young adults in your life.
You’re Full of Genes is by Dr. Claudia Zylberberg, CEO of Akron Biotech. This fun, interactive, illustrated children’s book explains what genes are and what they do, and why they are important to each of us.
In a news release about the book, Dr. Zylberberg says the following: “This project began as a labor of love, but as the cell and gene therapy industry propels forward at an unprecedented rate, I’ve found it is necessary to help educate the public, beginning with our youth. It’s important that patients understand these advanced medical technologies.”
The book was originally published in 2001 and has been updated to promote science literacy in society. The story follows three characters, including a gene named T-TAG, as they explain how cells and genes make each person unique.
Dr. Zylberberg is a director on CCRM’s Board and she is generously providing proceeds from the sale of her book to these four organizations: The CCRM Foundation, the ARM Foundation for Cell & Gene Medicine, the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy and Duke University’s Center for Autism and Brain Development.
Shows
Stem cells and gene therapies pop up as story lines in dozens of TV shows, from medical dramas – not a surprise – to Never Have I Ever on Netflix. The show, now in its second season, is about the trials and tribulations of an Indian-American teen. (Don’t judge me. I have teen daughters.) The protagonist’s cousin works in the lab of a Nobel prize-winning stem cell scientist, described as “the LeBron of stem cell research.” I wouldn’t expect a lot of stem cell science this season, but you never know whether the cousin’s story arc will “scale up.”
If you know him personally or you’ve read about famed but discredited surgeon Dr. Paolo Macchiarini and his life-saving artificial windpipes, now you can watch his story unfold on the small screen. A producer at NBC News, producing a documentary about Dr. Macchiarini, made the mistake of falling in love with him. Their romance and what she uncovered about his duplicity is the subject of a 20/20 report called “True Lies” that aired earlier this year. Not to spoil the not-so-happy ending, but Dr. Macchiarini was still married to his wife of 30 years when he was proposing to producer Benita Alexander. It all sounds like fodder for a made-for-TV movie, except that this happened in real life and sadly real people were hurt and died. But it does make for interesting TV, especially if you know the “lead character.” Here’s the link to part one and you can find the rest on YouTube.
As long as stem cell tourism exists and there are dishonest people peddling fake stem cell treatments, there will be good people trying to raise the alarm. Such is the case with this documentary exposing the dark side of the stem cell industry. The provocatively titled From Jail Cell to Stem Cell – The Next Con for the Ex Con (buy or rent a copy here) was released last year by self-taught, award-winning film-maker Doug Orchard. He’s out to expose more bad players in the field and warn patients. You can watch a trailer below.
Stacey Johnson
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