A talk by Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner, Reader in Anthropology at the University of Sussex. Everyone has heard of stem cells and the biomedical revolution they herald, but what are these cells, and what should we make of them? Does China have a different ethical framework for valuing unborn life? Western politicians have warned against the growing reliance on China for embryonic and fetal stem cell research. In truth, what scientists mean by 'stem cells' is changing so fast that even they have trouble keeping up.