Embryo's Heartbeat Drives Blood Stem Cell Formation

Biologists have long wondered why the embryonic heart begins beating so early, before the tissues actually need to be infused with blood. Two papers next week in Cell and Nature show that the mechanical stresses of a beating heart and blood flow are required for the blood system to develop, and offer clues that may help in developing cell-based therapies for blood diseases such as leukemia, immune deficiency and sickle cell anemia.

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