Research on myogenesis, the process of formation of skeletal muscle, advances knowledge of the biology of this tissue from a cellular and molecular perspective, and greatly contributes to the better understanding of tissue-specific stem cell functions and regeneration. New insights into stem cell functioning, advanced methodological approaches and new emerging therapeutic alternatives for severe muscle pathologies were discussed at two conferences on skeletal muscle held in 2012: 'Frontiers in Myogenesis: Development, Function and Repair of the Muscle Cell', in New York, and 'New Directions in Biology and Disease of Skeletal Muscle,' in New Orleans.