Hematopoietic Stem Cells -- Mesenchymal Stem Cells -- Cord Blood Stem Cells -- Neural Stem Cells and Their Niche -- Skeletal Muscle Stem Cells -- Heart Muscle Tissue Engineering -- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells -- Epigenetics of Somatic Cell Reprogramming -- Human Pluripotent Stem Cells and Neural Regeneration -- Dopaminergic Neuron-Related Stem Cells -- Liver Disease Modelling -- Organoids in Developmental Biology Research and Application -- Extracellular Vesicles -- Ethics in Stem Cell Applications.

This textbook describes the biology of different stem cell types and outlines the current level of knowledge in the field. It clearly explains the basics of hematopoietic, mesenchymal cord blood, neural and muscle stem cells and also covers induced pluripotent stem cells and their applications. Further, it includes chapters on organoids, stem-cell based disease modelling, extracellular vesicles and one chapter on ethical aspects of human stem cell research, which promotes critical thinking and responsible handling of the material. Based on lectures of the international master program Molecular and Developmental Stem Cell Biology taught at Ruhr-University Bochum and participation of collaborating professors from Tongji University Shanghai, the book is a valuable source for students, postdocs and researchers, who would like to have introductory chapters on stem cell biology. It also offers essential insights for physicians and dentists wishing to expand their knowledge. This textbook is a valuable complement to Concepts and Applications of Stem Cell Biology, also published in the Learning Materials in Biosciences textbook series.