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The molecular mechanisms controlling the specification of neural cell fates have been the focus of intense research in recent years. Neural precursor cells (NPCs) sequentially undergo expansion, neurogenic and gliogenic fates during development, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Recent studies have identified a number of extrinsic factors that regulate the fate of NPCs. Wnt signaling induces neuronal differentiation of NPCs in an instructive manner. Wnt plays this role in the neurogenic phase of NPCs but not in the early expansion phase, when this pathway promotes proliferation. Likewise, STAT3-activating ligands induce astrocytic differentiation in late gliogenic phase of NPCs but not in the early expansion and neurogenic phases. The mechanisms underlying these remarkable changes in progenitor behaviour and fate during development are not understood, but are thought to …