Quality control
After more than a decade of sometimes incremental, sometimes paradigm-shifting advances in stem cell biology, most people with a basic understanding of life sciences know that stem cells are the basic form of cell from which all specialized cells, and eventually organs and body parts, derive. But what makes a “good” stem cell, one that can reliably be used in developing drugs and for studying disease? Researchers have made enormous strides in understanding the process of cellular reprogramming, and how and why stem cells commit to their adult role. But until now, there have been no standards, no criteria, by which to test these ubiquitous cells for their ability to faithfully adopt characteristics that make them suitable substitutes for patients in drug testing. The need for such quality-control standards becomes ever more critical as industry looks toward manufacturing products and treatments using stem cells. Now, a research team led by Kevin Kit...