Forever Young: Digging for the roots of stem cells
By Katie Greene
Researchers have now shown how a trio of proteins controls whether an embryonic stem cell takes an irreversible step toward developing into specific tissues or retains its raw potential to become a blood cell, bone cell, brain cell, or any other kind of cell.
Stem cells’ unique capacity to develop into any type of cell—a property known as pluripotency—underlies their medical promise. Researchers argue that this trait could someday lead, for example, to lab-grown tissue and organs that would be useful for transplants.