If you have any interest in your body, your consciousness, your health and how it all works, this journal has made great strides in bringing together innovation.
Check it out at www.cell.com
On the cover: In this issue, Wang et al. (pp. 1001–1014) identify a differentiation checkpoint that eliminates hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in response to DNA breakage and telomere dysfunction. Executed by BATF, the checkpoint impairs self-renewal of damaged HSCs by the induction of lymphoid differentiation. On the cover, the pool of HSCs is represented by the feathers of the bird. Damaged stem cells—the red feathers—are removed by activation of the BATF-dependent differentiation checkpoint (black), which leads to changes in tissue composition and molting. The paper-cutting artist Yumaahi Maki created the cover collage with a combination of Japanese paper under the scientific direction of Yohei Morita and Lenhard Rudolph.