Intrinsically different retinal progenitor cells produce specific types of progeny

Retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) produce all of the retina's cells through an evolutionarily conserved series of divisions and cell fate decisions. In this article, Cepko describes recent studies that have shed light on the intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms that drive this process and argues that individual terminally dividing RPCs are molecularly specified to produce particular progeny.