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Research Highlights

Nature Immunology 10, 687 (1 July 2009) | doi:10.1038/ni0709-687

Research Highlights

Forcing HSC development In several vertebrate species, the production of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the aorta-gonads-mesonephros region of embryos starts just after initiation of the heartbeat and blood circulation. In Cell and Nature, teams led by Daley and Zon show that biomechanical force associated with blood flow induces, via nitric oxide (NO), differentiation of HSCs in mice and zebrafish.