There are cells in the body known as pluripotent stem cells that are yet to specialize in a particular biological function. These cells maintain the potential to become any of the possible cell types in an organism. Pluripotent stem cells have shown great promise in fields such as regenerative and transplant medicine for their properties, including unlimited self-renewal. The protein NANOG is the telltale marker of pluripotent stem cells and a necessary ingredient to reset specialized cells back into naïve, untrained stem cells. How human NANOG accomplishes this feat remains largely a mystery.
