The authors investigated the effects of 15,000 genes on the balance between self-renewal and differentiation of the human blood stem cell (blue box). An important element in getting blood stem cells to multiply outside the body is to understand which of the approximately 20 000 genes in the human body control their growth. A research team at Lund University in Sweden has studied close to 15 000 of these genes alongside each other. The researchers have succeeded in identifying four key genes which, together, govern the growth and multiplication of the stem cells. The study is now being published in the journal Cell Reports.

Every cell on the surface of this genetically engineered zebrafish expresses a unique combination of green, red and blue fluorescent proteins, resulting in over 70 different hues Scientists can now watch how hundreds of individual cells work together to maintain and regenerate skin tissue, thanks to a genetically engineered line of technicolor zebrafish.