An article from the Washington Post refers to an article from the June issue of the magazine Cell that claims to have discovered the gene that makes stem cells so useful.

As usual, the work is very preliminary, but interesting.

As an aside, those spending this weekend at NANOG will find it humorous that the gene has been named Nanog (after "the mythological Celtic land of Tir Nan Og, whose fairy-like residents are said to stay forever young.", not the networking gathering).