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Stem cells

The cost of perpetual youth

The ability to become nearly any cell type is restricted to eggs, sperm and primitive stem cells in very early embryos. Two studies reveal that maintaining this pluripotent state in vitro comes at a cost. See Letters p.219 & p.224

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Figure 1: Effects of maintaining pluripotency long-term in vitro.

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Correspondence to Thomas P. Zwaka.

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Zwaka, T. The cost of perpetual youth. Nature 548, 165–166 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature23102

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