Stem cells
Stem-cell research is en vogue — 25 years after scientists first isolated mouse embryonic stem cells, it is now possible to isolate and culture stem cells from embryos and adult tissues of many species, including humans. Despite the rapid progress in this field, several important questions in the areas of embryonic and adult stem-cell research still remain unanswered. What are the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie stem-cell renewal while conveying the potential to differentiate to different cell lineages? What combination of molecules confers differentiation to specific cell types? How can we isolate stem cells from different tissues? And how will knowledge of the mechanisms that underlie self-renewal and differentiation help us to develop patient-specific therapies?
In a Series of specially commissioned articles, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology reports on the current hot and exciting topics in stem-cell research, discusses new technologies and resources to study stem cells and explores controversial issues, such as stem-cell ethics and funding.
2009
October 2009 Vol 10 No 10
Systems biology of stem cell fate and cellular reprogramming
Ben D. MacArthur, Avi Ma'ayan & Ihor R. Lemischka
March 2009 Vol 10 No 3
Epidermal homeostasis: a balancing act of stem cells in the skin
Cédric Blanpain & Elaine Fuchs
February 2009 Vol 10 No 2
MicroRNAs: key regulators of stem cells
Vamsi K. Gangaraju & Haifan Lin
2008
December 2008 Vol 9 No 12
The regulation of human embryo and stem-cell research in the United Kingdom
Robin Lovell-Badge
December 2008 Vol 9 No 12
Stem cells: US policies on human embryonic stem cells
Richard O. Hynes
September 2008 Vol 9 No 9
The promise of human induced pluripotent stem cells for research and therapy
Shin-ichi Nishikawa, Robert A. Goldstein & Concepcion R. Nierras
July 2008 Vol 9 No 7
Mediators of reprogramming: transcription factors and transitions through mitosis
Dieter Egli, Garrett Birkhoff & Kevin Eggan
January 2008 Vol 9 No 1
No place like home: anatomy and function of the stem cell niche
D. Leanne Jones & Amy J. Wagers
January 2008 Vol 9 No 1
Epidermal homeostasis: do committed progenitors work while stem cells sleep?
Philip Jones & Benjamin D. Simons
2007
September 2007 Vol 8 No 9
How stem cells age and why this makes us grow old
Norman E. Sharpless & Ronald A. DePinho
June 2007 Vol 8 No 6
Embryonic stem-cell culture as a tool for developmental cell biology
Shin-Ichi Nishikawa, Lars Martin Jakt & Takumi Era
May 2007 Vol 8 No 5
Stem-cell niches: nursery rhymes across kingdoms
Ben Scheres