For stem cells, practice makes perfect
Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - 22:30
in Biology & Nature
Multipotent stem cells have the capacity to develop into different types of cells by reprogramming their DNA. In a new study, researchers have found that reprogramming is imperfect in the early stages of differentiation, with some genes turned on and off at random. As cell divisions continue, the stability of the differentiation process increases by a factor of 100.