Implantation of the blastocyst is a developmental milestone in mammalian embryonic
development. At this time, a coordinated program of lineage diversification, cell-fate specification, …

Fluorescent semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots) have the potential to revolutionize
biological imaging, but their use has been limited by difficulties in obtaining nanocrystals that …

Embryos allocate cells to the three germ layers in a spatially ordered sequence. Human
embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can generate the three germ layers in culture; however, …

Human and mouse embryonic stem cells (HESCs and MESCs, respectively) self-renew
indefinitely while maintaining the ability to generate all three germ-layer derivatives. Despite the …

Neural induction represents the earliest step in the determination of ectodermal cell fates. In
vertebrates, bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) act as signals of epidermal induction. The …

Cancer cells have the ability to divide indefinitely and spread to different parts of the body
during metastasis. Embryonic stem cells can self-renew and, through differentiation to somatic …

Histone H3 lysine 4 (K4) methylation has been linked to the transcriptional activation in a
variety of eukaryotic species. Here we show that a common component of MLL1, MLL2, and …

More than 2000 transcription factors are encoded in the human genome. Such proteins have
often been classified according to common structural elements. But because transcription …

The molecular mechanism underlying pluripotency is largely unknown. Here, we provide the
first global transcriptional profile of the state of “stemness” in human embryonic stem cells (…

FGF and other Ras/MAPK pathway activators counterbalance BMP action during neurogenesis,
bone formation, and other aspects of vertebrate development and homeostasis. BMP …