Repair or regenerate--how can we tip the balance?

The fourth EMBO conference on 'The Molecular and Cellular Basis of Regeneration and Repair', held in September 2012, brought together researchers from both the regeneration and wound-healing fields. The meeting spanned a wide range of research topics from basic science to clinical application, and a veritable melting pot of model organisms and approaches resulted in an excellent fourth conference in this series.