Melanocyte System for Studying Stem Cell Niche -- Establishment and Manipulation of Monkey and Human Embryonic Stem Cell Lines for Biomedical Research -- Human Embryonic Stem Cell Derivation and Directed Differentiation -- In Search of the Elusive Epidermal Stem Cell -- Corneal Cells for Regeneration -- Polycomb Gene Product Bmi-1 Regulates Stem Cell Self-Renewal -- Directed Differentiation of Neural and Sensory Tissues from Embryonic Stem Cells In Vitro -- Stem Cell Biology for Vascular Regeneration.The attitude to the possibility of regeneration in mammals has changed in recent years to one of cautious optimism that the endogenous mechanisms can be exploited for the medical armentarium. In this volume leading experts discuss the molecular, in vivo and clinical aspects of the use of stem cells in various disease contexts. With the current excitement in the research and clinical communities over the potential of regenerative medicine it is hoped that novel therapies will emerge that target intractable degenerative diseases. The book contains accounts of the latest advances in stem cell biology from the foremost researchers in the field. It discusses the analysis and use of stem cells in basic biology but also their application in clinical practice and is therefore unique in combining basic and applied approaches.