Description:
<jats:p>Hematopoietic stem cells (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">HSC</jats:styled-content>s) are the best studied adult stem cells with enormous clinical value. Most of our knowledge about their biology relies on assays at the single <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">HSC</jats:styled-content> level. However, only the recent advances in developing new single cell technologies allowed the elucidation of the complex regulation of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">HSC</jats:styled-content> fate decision control. This Review will focus on current attempts to investigate individual <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">HSC</jats:styled-content>s at molecular and functional levels. The advantages of these technologies leading to groundbreaking insights into hematopoiesis will be highlighted, and the challenges facing these technologies will be discussed. The importance of combining molecular and functional assays to enlighten regulatory networks of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">HSC</jats:styled-content> fate decision control, ideally at high temporal resolution, becomes apparent for future studies.</jats:p>