title: Previews. Crossing boundaries: direct programming of fibroblasts into neurons.
abstract: In a recent paper in Nature, Vierbuchen et al. (2010) show that fibroblasts can be directly converted into functional neurons by defined factors. This finding sheds new light on the biology underlying cell-fate restrictions and might offer a new avenue for studying neurological diseases.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cell Biology, Department of Biology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Schafmattstrasse 18, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Simon M G
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Braun
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jessberger