Stem cells articles from across Nature Portfolio

Stem-cell models provide evidence that viral DNA sequences that entered the human genome in the past were repurposed to aid early stages of embryonic development.

A method to produce embryonic stem cells for a range of bird species opens up opportunities in agriculture, developmental biology and species conservation.

Extracellular matrix remodelling and densification are hallmarks of fibrosis that have been challenging to study ex vivo. Visible light-induced dityrosine crosslinking of native matrix proteins in viable lung tissues has now been shown to recapitulate local stiffening that characterizes early lung injury. This stiffening led to aberrant alveolar epithelial cell differentiation, mechanosensing and nascent protein deposition.

Analyzing Feret diameter is a straightforward way to assess the quality of unguided brain organoids. Low-quality brain organoids show a high Feret diameter, accompanied by a higher proportion of unintended mesenchymal cells.

Lekkos et al. show that a metabolic switch toward oxidative phosphorylation is required for cardiomyocyte re-differentiation and heart regeneration after injury in fish.

Dietary cysteine enhances intestinal stem cell-mediated intestinal repair following injury by promoting CD8 T cell-regenerative immune responses.

Genetic manipulation of blastoids reveals the role of recently emerged transposable elements and genes in human development.

Colon stem cells expressing the surface markers NOX1 and NPY1R can give rise to colon cancer in mice.

Stem-cell models provide evidence that viral DNA sequences that entered the human genome in the past were repurposed to aid early stages of embryonic development.

A method to produce embryonic stem cells for a range of bird species opens up opportunities in agriculture, developmental biology and species conservation.

This Focus issue highlights current research at the intersection of ageing and cancer, and explores how insights gained from this may lead to better cancer prevention strategies and diagnostics, enhanced therapeutic efficacy and improvements to both patient quality of life and outcomes.

Lab-made organoids that mimic reproductive tissues could point to treatments for common conditions such as pre-eclampsia and endometriosis.