Organoids provide a platform for recapitulating and exploring development, and synthetic biology offers a toolbox to genetically manipulate cell communication, adhesion, and even cell fate. Using...

Poss and Tanaka provide a review of concepts and mechanisms in regenerative biology. They describe “hallmarks” that are broadly represented across species, tissues, and injury contexts as a means to...

In this review, Peng Du and Jun Wu present a detailed overview of the growth conditions, molecular characteristics, and functional attributes of totipotent and pluripotent stem cells generated...

In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Yoo et al.1 report that replacing Trem2 knockout microglia with Trem2 wild-type microglia-like cells derived from systemically transplanted hematopoietic cells...

Stem cell function is defined by their capacity to replace lost tissue through division. Beumer and Clevers put forth a set of six complementary hallmarks that are key enabling features of this...

In recent decades, metabolic adaptations emerged as a mechanism by which pluripotent and tissue stem cell fate decisions are regulated. In this review, Jackson and Finley describe the common themes...

Zhang et al. show that the mechanical properties of a three-dimensional (3D) hydrogel can enhance the secretion of niche factors from bone marrow stromal cells, which in turn promotes the maintenance...

Lau and colleagues generated an in vitro mouse embryo model with embryonic and extraembryonic lineages using exclusively embryonic stem cells and showed that the embryoids can undergo advanced...

In this review, Peng Du and Jun Wu present a detailed overview of the growth conditions, molecular characteristics, and functional attributes of totipotent and pluripotent stem cells generated...

Cai and collaborators developed an extensive single-cell atlas of regeneration in eight representative tissues, illuminating aging-related regenerative decline across tissues. This study offers a...

The mechanisms that link pro-obesity high-fat diets (HFDs) to increased colon cancer risk are not well understood. Beyaz and colleagues demonstrate that a HFD promotes intestinal tumor initiation by...

Exploring the early stages of human embryonic development poses significant difficulties owing to ethical and technical limitations. Two recent studies in Nature report the self-organization of human...

Mechanobiology studies utilize biomaterials to closely mimic the mechanics of in vivo tissues. Atcha et al. discuss key mechanical properties of tissues mimicked by biomaterials and their impacts on...

Increasing reports show neurological symptoms in COVID-19 patients, but it is still unclear whether SARS-CoV-2 can directly damage neurons. Lancaster and colleagues investigate viral neurotropism...

Liu et al. generate a transcriptomic single-cell atlas of skeletal muscle, neural and hematopoietic stem cells, and their niche environment and progeny during aging and in response to exercise....

Jing et al. performed genome-wide CRISPRa screening, pinpointing SOX5 as a potent rejuvenator of senescent human cells. Through epigenetic and transcriptional remodeling, SOX5 activates HMGB2,...

Nazim et al. investigate the molecular mechanisms and functional consequences of an alternative splicing switch in the chromatin modifier, DPF2. The study reveals that the developmental switch from...

Chen et al. identify TGFB1 as a key facilitator of intestinal regeneration, revealing that TGFB1 is sufficient to induce epithelial cells to acquire a fetal-like state typical of regenerating...

The preservation of adult stem cell identity following cell division is essential for sustained tissue maintenance and repair. Will, Kao, and colleagues identify iron as a crucial regulator allowing...

Non-coding mutations over a megabase from SOX9 cause the craniofacial disorder Pierre Robin sequence (PRS). Long et al. leverage a human neural crest model to demonstrate that PRS is caused by loss...

Zhang et al. perform in toto live imaging to examine the dynamics of fluid flow forces in the mouse blastocyst cavity, and by using klf2 as a reporter of fluid flow forces, they provide a resource...

Leone, Gelati, and colleagues assessed the intracerebroventricular injection (ICVI) of allogeneic human neural stem/progenitor cells (hNSCs) for the treatment of progressive multiple sclerosis. The...

Banjac et al. review the mechanisms behind homeostasis and regeneration in the epidermis, hematopoietic system, and intestinal epithelium with an emphasis on tissue stem cells. They highlight key...

By using a chemical cocktail to remodel the pericentromeric heterochromatin and re-establish a totipotent-specific H3K4me3 landscape, Wang and colleagues establish a totipotent-like stem cell line...

Small molecule-induced cell fate transitions are characterized by low efficiency and slow kinetics. An optimized chemical reprogramming approach now facilitates the robust and rapid conversion of...

Ito et al. investigate the mechanism by which mitochondrial metabolism controls hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) fate. They reveal that FAO (fatty acid oxidation)-generated NADPH fuels cholesterol...

Maulana et al. developed an advanced tumor-on-chip model that recreates chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell infusion, recruitment, and infiltration into solid tumors. Perfused culture enables the...

Using integrated analysis of single-cell transcriptomic, proteomic, and tissue ultrastructural data, Mascharak, Talbott, Januszyk, et al. define divergent molecular trajectories of scarring versus...

Mitrofanova and colleagues describe the production of bioengineered human colon organoids that are anatomically and functionally similar to the native gut. These “mini-colons” exhibit cellular...

Regenerating the lungs’ architecture after injury requires rebuilding its fibroelastic extracellular matrix scaffold. Konkimalla et al. establish that regenerative cell states (RCSs) of both epithe...

Despite advances in stem cell cultures, modeling early human development with stem cells in a dish remains challenging. Research by Hislop et al., Okubo et al., and Wei et al. paves the way for...

The underlying mechanisms maintaining the developmental potential of the dormant embryo are still obscure. Here, Chen and colleagues analyzed the single-cell transcriptomes of mouse embryos during...

Vyas and colleagues show DNMT3A and TET2 mutation-specific patterns of clonal expansion in human clonal hematopoiesis (CH). Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in CH bone marrow have heightened transcr...

This study demonstrates an approach to develop vascularized cardiac tissue using a combination of human cell types and organ-on-a-chip technology. The integration of primitive macrophages significa...

Large-scale sequencing studies have identified hundreds of autism-associated genes, yet a systematic understanding of their functional consequences during human neurodevelopment remains elusive....

Deriving a large number of hiPSC-cardiomyocytes would be beneficial for large-scale tissue engineering and drug screening applications. Buikema et al. show that GSK-3β inhibition combined with...

Our “microglia report card” reveals that human microglia selectively regulate different biological gene cluster modules in an environment-dependent fashion. The presence of microglia in brain...

Aghazadeh et al. show that transplantation of adipose-derived microvessels in the subcutaneous space supports early connection to the host vasculature, promoting engraftment and function of either...

Lau and colleagues generated an in vitro mouse embryo model with embryonic and extraembryonic lineages using exclusively embryonic stem cells and showed that the embryoids can undergo advanced...

Meistermann et al. use scRNA-seq, pseudotime analysis, and immunofluorescence validation to reconstruct the sequence of molecular events occurring in time-lapse-staged human preimplantation embryos....

In a scientific first, researchers at the Gladstone Institutes turned skin cells from mice into stem cells by activating a specific gene in the cells using CRISPR technology. The innovative approach...

Maulana et al. developed an advanced tumor-on-chip model that recreates chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell infusion, recruitment, and infiltration into solid tumors. Perfused culture enables the...

Reliable stem cell models of the early embryo would open new approaches to studying human development and infertility. Yanagida and colleagues used naive stem cells to generate human blastocyst-like...

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) drops in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and correlates with cognitive status in AD patients. We discuss the significance of the multicellular complexity of the AHN...

Wu and colleagues characterized the cell adhesion incompatibility between pluripotent stem cells from distant species, identifying it as a key component of the “xenogeneic barriers” preventing...