Stem Cells: On Your Mark, Get Set, Don’t Go

Like overeager runners at the starting line, stem cells sometimes jump the gun, disqualifying themselves and losing the chance to enter the winner’s circle. For would-be therapeutic stem cells, the winner’s circle is a transplantation site. It can be reached only if stem cells pace themselves and avoid differentiating too soon.To keep stem cells from differentiating prematurely, scientists based at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have developed a drug that helps regulate the