A new study by a team of Soka University researchers that sheds light on the molecular mechanisms controlling the ability of embryonic stem cells (ESC) to differentiate or become almost any cell in the human body, was published in the online U.S. science journal, PLoS ONE, on December 11. The team, led by cellular biologist Shoko Nishihara of the Faculty of Engineering’s Department of Bioinformatics at Soka, hopes their research findings will add to the body of ESC knowledge, which may prove foundational to the development of not only promising biotechnology tools, but cell replacement therapies as well. The Soka research was supported in part by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology under a government initiative promoting leading-edge research at private universities.