This Episode's Stem Cell Roundup:

• hESC-Derived Dopamine Progenitors for Parkinson’s Treatment – Researchers have generated midbrain dopamine neurons from hESCs, and manufactured large-scale cryopreserved dopamine progenitors for clinical use in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
• Reactivating Neural Crest Pluripotency – A new study suggests that cranial neural crest cells expand their developmental potential through a transient reacquisition of molecular signatures of pluripotency.
• Engaging Eosinophils against Liver Injury – Scientists have discovered a mechanism of eosinophil-mediated liver protection that could serve as a therapeutic target to improve outcomes of patients undergoing liver transplantation.
• Disrupting the Identity of Heart Muscle Cells – Mutations in the LMNA gene severely disrupt chromatin organization in cardiomyocytes, but not hepatocytes or adipocytes, leading to abnormal activation of non-heart muscle genes.