News & Comment

In June 2023, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) released a report detailing standards for human stem cell research. We spoke to the co-chairs of the Steering Committee, Tenneille Ludwig, Senior Scientist and Director of the WiCell Stem Cell Bank, and Peter W. Andrews, Emeritus Professor at the University of Sheffield, and discussed the purpose and some of the basic aspects of these standards.

Nancy Kleckner is the Herchel Smith professor of molecular biology at Harvard University. She recalls the evolution of her research interests from pure genetics, through biochemistry and molecular biology of DNA, to the roles of mechanical forces for whole-chromosome spatial patterning and dynamics.

Chun-Yan Lim is a group leader at the Guangzhou Laboratory, China, studying organelle contacts as metabolic signaling hubs. We reached out to Chun-Yan to discuss his scientific career and life in the lab.

The enduring lack of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in academia is arguably the biggest challenge facing universities. Progress has been slow and dependent on the efforts of marginalized faculty. We explain why this is a problem, offer potential solutions and ask those with intersecting privilege and power to be the drivers of change.

Dimple Notani is principal investigator (PI) at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore, India, studying gene regulation. Nature Cell Biology contacted Dimple to discuss the state of the field and her experience running a research lab in India through a pandemic and as a junior PI.

Daylon James is an associate professor at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, where his work focuses on reproductive biology and cell-based approaches for treating infertility. Arun Sharma is an assistant professor at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Regenerative Medicine Institute, and his lab works on modelling cardiovascular diseases and developing cell-based screening platforms for drug toxicity. Many of us also know them as the hosts of the Stem Cell Podcast. Here, we ask them about the podcast and discuss their view on the stem cell field and science communication.

Kara McKinley is an assistant professor of stem-cell and regenerative biology at Harvard University. In addition to advancing our understanding of endometrial regeneration, she has tackled the gender bias in the academic job market by founding the ‘Leading Edge Fellows’ program. Nature Cell Biology contacted her to discuss her career and goals for our research community.

The Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) in Singapore has helped the local scientific community to grow. Nature Cell Biology spoke to Wanjin Hong (executive director at A*STAR’s IMCB) and Guillaume Thibault (associate professor affiliated with Nanyang Technological University Singapore, National University of Singapore and A*STAR’s IMCB), who have dedicated parts of their careers to the growth of cell biology research in Singapore, about the history and directions of cell biological research programs in Singapore.

Alternative splicing of eukaryotic messenger RNA transcripts often leads to the production of several mature RNAs — including linear RNAs and circular RNAs (circRNAs) — from a single gene locus. The names given to circRNAs are often ambiguous and lack consistency across studies. This Comment calls on the community to embrace a common nomenclature for naming circRNAs to ensure clarity and reproducibility.

Nature Cell Biology is proud to support fundamental cell biological studies. We look forward to continuing to publish impactful research that advances our understanding of cells in basic and applied contexts.

This month, we host a free, virtual Nature Conference with Nature Metabolism and Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, ‘Metabolic Communication Across Biological Scales’, and highlight recent articles that enrich our understanding of cellular metabolism in health and disease.