Helge Großhans and his group at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) have elucidated the mode of action of the RNA-binding protein and stem cell factor LIN41. In an animal model, they showed that LIN41 silences four specific mRNAs, by two distinct mechanisms. They found that the choice of mechanism is determined by where on the mRNA LIN41 binds. As the proteins whose production LIN41 inhibits are responsible for cell maturation, these new findings could be relevant for future stem cell therapies.