A wide spectrum of diseases may be treatable with non-immunogenic transplantable cells: however current cell-based therapies are limited in scope and have almost exclusively relied on autologous and allogeneic cell sources. While proving to be efficacious, donor-limited cells can be difficult to obtain, have inadequate expansion capabilities, and may result in graft-versus-host disease. Due to their inexhaustible capability to expand and wide-ranging differentiation potential, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) hold great promise as alternative cell sources for regenerative medicine. They may help treat diseases involving tissue damage such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, and stroke as well as a variety of hematologic and neurologic disorders. However, several hurdles will need to be overcome before hESCs, iPSCs, or their derivatives can be used therapeutically. In the face of rising health care costs and widespread clinical need, hESCs and/or iPSCs may one day provide a cost-effective means for large-scale production of therapeutic cells.

In this special issue, we invite authors to submit original research articles examining any potential clinical application or preclinical study involving hESCs, human iPSCs, or their derivatives. However, articles focusing on the use of other stem cell sources such as human cord blood, bone marrow, placenta, amnion, or adult tissue-derived pluripotent cells are beyond the scope of this issue. Invited topics for original research articles may include both basic and applied scientific studies such as:

• Novel cell culture systems (e.g., matrices, 3D bioreactors, etc.) for the production of therapeutically useful cells from hESCs and iPSCs
• Advances in existing differentiation methods, in particular the development of scalable, feeder-free, and/or serum-free stem cell differentiation systems
• Biochemical, molecular, or genetic in nature relating to pluripotency or differentiation of stem cells
• Transplantation of hESC/iPSC derivatives into in vivo model systems of disease

A limited number of review articles will also be welcome and should cover a relevant topic such as progress and pitfalls of differentiating hESCs and/or iPSCs into specific cell types; comparative analysis of hESCs versus iPSCs; or safety issues related to their clinical use.

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/sci/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: