Most organs in the adult human body are able to maintain themselves and undergo repair after injury; these processes are largely dependent on stem cells. In this Monograph, the Guest Editors bring together leading authors in the field to provide information about the different classes of stem cells present both in the developing and adult lung: where they are found, how they function in homeostasis and pathologic conditions, the mechanisms that regulate their behaviour, and how they may be harnessed for therapeutic purposes. The book focuses on stem cells in the mouse and human lung but also includes the ferret as an increasingly important new model organism. Chapters also discuss how lung tissue, including endogenous stem cells, can be generated in vitro from pluripotent stem cell lines. This state-of-the-art collection comprehensively covers one of the most exciting areas of respiratory science

This open access book focuses on the molecular mechanism of congenital heart disease and pulmonary hypertension, offering new insights into the development of pulmonary circulation and the ductus arteriosus. It describes in detail the molecular mechanisms involved in the development and morphogenesis of the heart, lungs and ductus arteriosus, covering a range of topics such as gene functions, growth factors, transcription factors and cellular interactions, as well as stem cell engineering technologies. The book also presents recent advances in our understanding of the molecular mechanism of lung development, pulmonary hypertension and molecular regulation of the ductus arteriosus. As such, it is an ideal resource for physicians, scientists and investigators interested in the latest findings on the origins of congenital heart disease and potential future therapies involving pulmonary circulation/hypertension and the ductus arteriosus.

This book covers the identification and role of endogenous lung stem cells in health and disease, particularly the most recent advances. In addition, it discusses the rapidly growing field of stem cells and cell therapy as it relates to lung biology and disease as well as ex vivo lung bioengineering. Such approaches may provide novel therapeutic approaches for lung diseases. Human pluripotent stem cell differentiation to model the pulmonary epithelium and vasculature is also discussed. World-recognized scientists who specialize in studying both the lung epithelium and pulmonary vasculature contribute the chapters. Topics covered include: stem cell niches in the lung, the role of progenitor cells in fibrosis and asthma, iPSC in modeling lung disease, vascular repair by endothelial progenitor cells and circulating fibrocytes in pulmonary vascular remodeling. This volume of the Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine series is essential reading for researchers and clinicians interested in stem cells, lung biology and regenerative medicine. It is also an invaluable resource for advanced students studying cell biology, regenerative medicine and lung physiology.

The most comprehensive reference on fluorescent nanodiamond physical and chemical properties and contemporary applications Fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) have drawn a great deal of attention over the past several years, and their applications and development potential are proving to be manifold and vast. The first and only book of its kind, Fluorescent Nanodiamonds is a comprehensive guide to the basic science and technical information needed to fully understand the fundamentals of FNDs and their potential applications across an array of domains. In demonstrating the importance of FNDs in biological applications, the authors bring together all relevant chemistry, physics, materials science and biology. Nanodiamonds are produced by powerful cataclysmic events such as explosions, volcanic eruptions and meteorite impacts. They also can be created in the lab by high-pressure high-temperature treatment of graphite or detonating an explosive in a reactor vessel. A single imperfection can give a nanodiamond a specific, isolated color center which allows it to function as a single, trapped atom. Much smaller than the thickness of a human hair, a nanodiamond can have a huge surface area that allows it to bond with a variety of other materials. Because of their non-toxicity, nanodiamonds may be useful in biomedical applications, such as drug delivery and gene therapy. The most comprehensive reference on a topic of rapidly increasing interest among academic and industrial researchers across an array of fields Includes numerous case studies and practical examples from many areas of research and industrial applications, as well as fascinating and instructive historical perspectives Each chapter addresses, in-depth, a single integral topic including the fundamental properties, synthesis, mechanisms and functionalisation of FNDs The first book published by the key patent holder with his research group in the field of FNDs Fluorescent Nanodiamonds is an important working resource for a broad range of scientists and engineers in industry and academia. It will also be a welcome reference for instructors in chemistry, physics, materials science, biology and related fields.

The commercialization of biotechnology has resulted in an intensive search for new biological resources for the purposes of increasing food productivity, medicinal applications, energy production, and various other applications. Although biotechnology has produced many benefits for humanity, the exploitation of the planet's natural resources has also resulted in some undesirable consequences such as diminished species biodiversity, climate change, environmental contamination, and intellectual property right and patent concerns.This book discusses the role of biological, ecological, environmental, ethical, and economic issues in the interaction between biotechnology and biodiversity, using different contexts. No other book has discussed all of these issues in a comprehensive manner. Of special interest is their impact when biotechnology is shared between developed and developing countries, and the lack of recognition of the rights of indigenous populations and traditional farmers in developing countries by large multinational corporations.

Defined as, “The science about the development of an embryo from the fertilization of the ovum to the fetus stage,” embryology has been a mainstay at universities throughout the world for many years. Throughout the last century, embryology became overshadowed by experimental-based genetics and cell biology, transforming the field into developmental biology, which replaced embryology in Biology departments in many universities. Major contributions in this young century in the fields of molecular biology, biochemistry and genomics were integrated with both embryology and developmental biology to provide an understanding of the molecular portrait of a “development cell.” That new integrated approach is known as stem-cell biology; it is an understanding of the embryology and development together at the molecular level using engineering, imaging and cell culture principles, and it is at the heart of this seminal book. Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine: From Molecular Embryology to Tissue Engineering is completely devoted to the basic developmental, cellular and molecular biological aspects of stem cells as well as their clinical applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. It focuses on the basic biology of embryonic and cancer cells plus their key involvement in self-renewal, muscle repair, epigenetic processes, and therapeutic applications. In addition, it covers other key relevant topics such as nuclear reprogramming induced pluripotency and stem cell culture techniques using novel biomaterials. A thorough introduction to stem-cell biology, this reference is aimed at graduate students, post-docs, and professors as well as executives and scientists in biotech and pharmaceutical companies.

Lung disease affects more than 600 million people worldwide. While some of these lung diseases have an obvious developmental component, there is growing appreciation that processes and pathways critical for normal lung development are also important for postnatal tissue homeostasis and are dysregulated in lung disease. This book provides an authoritative review of fetal and neonatal lung development and is designed to provide a diverse group of scientists, spanning the basic to clinical research spectrum, with the latest developments on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of normal lung development and injury-repair processes, and how they are dysregulated in disease. The book covers genetics, omics, and systems biology as well as new imaging techniques that are transforming studies of lung development. The reader will learn where the field of lung development has been, where it is presently, and where it is going in order to improve outcomes for patients with common and rare lung diseases.