Stem Cell Web Focus – Nature Publishing Group : science …

Stem cells are truly remarkable. They bridge the gulf between the fertilized egg that is our origin and the architecture that we become. They supply the cells that construct our adult bodies and, as we age, replenish worn out, damaged and diseased tissues. They renew themselves, resisting the powerful pull towards differentiation that overcomes more prosaic cells. And depending on the source, they have the potential to form one, many or all cell types of an organism.

Stem cell research has a history of more than 20 years, and has made some outstanding contributions to our understanding of haematopoiesis and mouse embryology. But the field has been transformed in the past few years by successes achieved in culturing human embryonic stem cells, the building blocks for every tissue we comprise, and in manipulating their differentiation in vitro. This web focus encompasses a one-stop shop for a selection of excellent articles and features on stem cells handpicked from the pages of Nature, including the specially commissioned Stem Cell Insight.

Dopamine neurons derived from embryonic stem cells function in an animal model of Parkinson's disease JONG-HOON KIM , JONATHAN M. AUERBACH , JOS A. RODRGUEZ-GMEZ , IVN VELASCO , DENISE GAVIN , NADYA LUMELSKY , SANG-HUN LEE , JOHN NGUYEN , ROSARIO SNCHEZ-PERNAUTE , KRYS BANKIEWICZ & RON MCKAY Nature AOP published online 20 June 2002; doi:10.1038/nature00900 | First Paragraph | Full Text (HTML / PDF) |

Pluripotency of mesenchymal stem cells derived from adult marrow YUEHUA JIANG , BALKRISHNA N. JAHAGIRDAR , R. LEE REINHARDT , ROBERT E. SCHWARTZ , C. DIRK KEENE , XILMA R. ORTIZ-GONZALEZ , MORAYMA REYES , TODD LENVIK , TROY LUND , MARK BLACKSTAD , JINGBO DU , SARA ALDRICH , AARON LISBERG , WALTER C. LOW , DAVID A. LARGAESPADA & CATHERINE M. VERFAILLIE Nature AOP published online 20 June 2002; doi:10.1038/nature00870 | First Paragraph | Full Text (HTML / PDF) |

Biomedicine: Stem-cell competition STUART H. ORKIN & SEAN J. MORRISON The debate continues over the relative merits of using embryonic and adult stem cells for research and perhaps, one day, to treat patients. Two new papers look at the abilities of these remarkable cells. Nature 418, 2527 (4 July 2002) | Full Text | PDF |

Stem cell hopes double Embryo and adult stem cell findings may re-fuel cloning research debates | Link |

Stem cells hype and hope RON MCKAY Nature 406, 361364 (2000); doi:10.1038/35019186 | Full Text (HTML / PDF) |

Can they rebuild us? PETER ALDHOUS The idea of therapeutic cloning, which offers the potential of growing replacement tissues perfectly matched to their recipients, is falling from favour. But there are alternatives, as Peter Aldhous found out. Nature 410, 622625 (2001); doi:10.1038/35070659 | Full Text (HTML / PDF) |

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