Stem Cell Symphony: A Novel

Stuart Matheson, 32, is trapped in a nursing home as well as his body, eerily immobile at the last stage of Huntington's Disease. Kelsey Raye is a science writer feeling guilty about the recent deaths of her parents. She volunteers for hospice and is assigned to Stuart. She's a PhD, he never finished school, but they share a love of rock music and disdain of religion. They instantly bond.

As Kelsey plays her iPod daily for Stuart, he improves - an impossibility - and when she misses a few days, he backslides. She deduces that Stuart's gains follow hearing U2 or their imitators. Kelsey, who writes about stem cells, thinks the frequency of the arpeggios is turning on stem cells in Stuart's brain. She shares her idea with researcher Peter Holloway, but evil Nurse Smithies overhears and outs them to a tabloid. Meanwhile, Peter scans Stuart's brain. He's getting better!

All hell breaks loose when the tabloid hits. The government shuts down Peter's lab and confiscates Kelsey's iPod, while anti-stem cell protestors harass them -- just as Peter discovers how music stimulates stem cells. Then something unexpected happens. Did science fail, or was it the anti-science forces?

The underlying love story and comical cast of characters propel this parallel tale of emerging spirituality and an evolving medical technology. Many of the characters and scenes are based on real people, and the science dead-on accurate - with the one tweak of the music turning on stem cells.

It could happen.
Customer Review: Entertaining, informative, and inspiring
It's very refreshing to read a novel that is so well grounded in science and real life. This book has all the fictional elements of a great novel, yet you learn some things about science along the way through the book. I particularly liked the section on Congressional testimony. And I can personally relate to some of the nursing home scenes. Great job!
Customer Review: A good read AND informative!
Ricki Lewis' novel is the story of a young science writer who, as a hospice volunteer, finds herself inexplicably helping a patient with an incurable disease. It is current both in terms of discussing the science of the stem cell technology we hear so much about these days, but also in its musical references, like U2 and Coldplay (two artists included in a recent planetarium show I visited in the Rose Space Center in NYC.) There is a love interest with a twist, and I found myself gripped by the unknowns presented in the thickening plots. The cast of characters was eccentric but believable. Their actions felt so real sometimes, I found myself wondering if portions of the story were based on real events. What I perhaps liked the best was that the uplifting ending suggested that the miracle of art (in this case music) can inexplicably have a profound scientific effect on our bodies in ways we have perhaps not yet discovered. If there are not medical researchers out there testing out Dr. Lewis' "novel" hypotheses- there should be! I found myself learning about science while enjoying the story. This was a good read- I highly suggest it!

Hip-hop music has come a long way. Groups using this musical style have come and go. But perhaps, the one that has stayed longer in the music scene and has gained much international fame is none other than the Black Eyed Peas. Kudos to the guys willi.i.am (William Adams), apl.de.ap (Allan Pineda), Taboo and Fergie -- for doing a terrific job. Already with two Grammy Awards for their American hip-hop music and more than 20 million albums and singles sold, this group from Los Angeles, California, continue to reap their rewards around the world.

Black Eyed Peas success can be attributed to the groups unique style. Their music focuses on socially-relevant issues which are very unlike the violent lyrics of the gangsta rap groups. They also incorporated dance into their style with the members having their own unique clothing as well. Now thats style and once you have it, you will never fade.

The Black Eyed Peas now have several chart-topping hits to their credit. Their very first major hit Where is the Love? came from their Elephunk album released in 2003. It reached the 8th spot on the US Hot 100 and topped the charts in the UK where it stayed for six weeks and became the best-selling single in the same year. The song also topped the Australian music charts for six weeks. The Elephunk album produced their second hit Shut Up which stayed at the second spot in the US and topped the charts in France, Germany and Australia. The third hit from the album was Hey Mama which got featured in the first iPod Silhouette TV commercials. The album envetually went gold and platinum in the U.S., U.K., Germany and other European countries.

Black Eyed Peas earned its first Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 2005. Their song Lets Get It Started was responsible for the award. Originally titled Lets Get Retarded, the song was restyled to fit an NBA Finals commercial which was aired worldwide. The lyrics were changed to suit a basketball theme replacing the originals message on getting intoxicated and partying. As expected, the song attained tremendous success reaching the 21st spot on the US Hot 100, 11th spot in the U.K. and 2nd spot in Australia. Apart from the Grammy, Lets Get It Started also led Black Eyed Peas to be featured in The Urbz: Sims in the City videogame where they played as characters. The game features their award-winning song and Shut Up.

William Adams said their groups name Black Eyed Peas was influenced by the band that also used food for its name, Red Hot Chili Peppers. He added that black eyed peas are food for the soul and they want to be just like that to people who appreciate their hip-hop style of music. Adams and Allan Pineda a.k.a. Apl, who is proud of his Filipino background, have been together way back in 1988 when they were only starting out as rappers in L.A. Now, with two other members added to their group, they continue to make waves around the world with jampacked performances. And not only is the group making great music because unknown to many, Black Eyed Peas is also involved in a social program to help suffering children worldwide through its Pea Pod Foundation. Now this group truly has a heart and deserves all the success it has earned.

Podcastblaster is a site specializing in all aspect of podcasting and provides an extensive podcast directory covering many topics including music podcasts.

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