Divide, differentiate or die? Making decisions at the right time and place is what defines a cell's behavior and is particularly critical for stem cells of an developing organisms. Decision making relies on how information is processed by networks of signaling proteins. Scientists have now revealed that ERK, a key player in stem cell signaling, processes information through fast activity pulses. The duration of the pulsing interval, might encode information essential for divergent fate decision in stem cell cultures.
