SCIENCE: 8. 11. 2013

SCIENCE: A stem cell perspective on cellular engineering

"A fundamental enigma in modern biology concerns the molecular rules that govern how cells establish and maintain identity during development. These rules are the key to generating therapeutic cell types in vitro and the foundation of regenerative medicine. The isolation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) has enabled scientists to recapitulate the process of embryonic development in a dish, by directing differentiation of ESCs with combinations of morphogens and growth factors to mimic embryonic development. These experiments assume that cell and tissue fates evolve along specific paths, and once established, remain fixed. But the advent of cellular reprogramming has fundamentally altered our view of the stability of cell identity, and dramatic demonstrations of the interconversions of mature cell types have introduced the provocative idea that cell identity can be engineered to play beneficial therapeutic roles."

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6159/700.summary

BLOOD: Massively parallel sequencing: the new frontier of hematologic genomics

"Genomic technologies are becoming a routine part of human genetic analysis. The exponential growth in DNA sequencing capability has brought an unprecedented understanding of human genetic variation and the identification of thousands of variants that impact human health. In this review, we describe the different types of DNA variation and provide an overview of existing DNA sequencing technologies and their applications. As genomic technologies and knowledge continue to advance, they will become integral in clinical practice. To accomplish the goal of personalized genomic medicine for patients, close collaborations between researchers and clinicians will be essential to develop and curate deep databases of genetic variation and their associated phenotypes."

http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/content/122/19/3268.abstract