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| Open AccessInferring and perturbing cell fate regulomes in human brain organoids
A multi-omic atlas of brain organoid development facilitates the inference of an underlying gene regulatory network using the newly developed Pando framework and shows—in conjunction with perturbation experiments—that GLI3 controls forebrain fate establishment through interaction with HES4/5 regulomes.
- Jonas Simon Fleck
- , Sophie Martina Johanna Jansen
- & Barbara Treutlein
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News & Views |
Mouse embryo models built from stem cells take shape in a dish
Two groups have grown self-organizing models of mouse embryos from stem cells in vitro. The models mimic mid-gestation embryos, providing an unparalleled opportunity to study early embryonic development.
- Neal D. Amin
- & Sergiu P. Pașca
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News |
Genes’ effect on lifespan depends on sex and age, mouse study finds
In a large study, researchers identified several areas of the mouse genome that influence longevity.
- Liam Drew
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Article |
Failure of human rhombic lip differentiation underlies medulloblastoma formation
Derailed differentiation of human-specific progenitors of the developing cerebellar rhombic lip is the cause of group 4 medulloblastoma, the most common childhood brain tumour.
- Liam D. Hendrikse
- , Parthiv Haldipur
- & Michael D. Taylor
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News & Views |
Stressful start causes chromosome errors in human embryos
Analysis of early human embryos reveals that DNA duplication after fertilization is highly inefficient. This causes DNA damage, chromosome breaks and abnormal numbers of chromosomes, impairing embryo development.
- Tommaso Cavazza
- & Melina Schuh
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Article |
Glucose-driven TOR–FIE–PRC2 signalling controls plant development
Glucose signalling via TOR controls growth and differentiation through regulation of genome-wide histone methylation via FERTILIZATION-INDEPENDENT ENDOSPERM (FIE).
- Ruiqiang Ye
- , Meiyue Wang
- & Jen Sheen
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Article |
Independent origins of fetal liver haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells
In fetal liver, the structure of the differentiated haemapoietic progenitor cell population is established directly from precursor cells, independently of haemapoietic stem cells.
- Tomomasa Yokomizo
- , Takako Ideue
- & Toshio Suda
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Research Highlight |
Quick course of anti-ageing drug shows success
Flies and mice benefit from even a brief regimen of rapamycin.
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Nature Podcast |
Audio long read: Hybrid brains – the ethics of transplanting human neurons into animals
Human cells transplanted into animal brains provide insights into development and disease but also raise ethical questions.
- Kendall Powell
- & Benjamin Thompson
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Article
| Open AccessEmbryo model completes gastrulation to neurulation and organogenesis
Synthetic mouse embryos assembled from embryonic stem cells, trophoblast stem cells and induced extraembryonic endoderm stem cells closely recapitulate the development of wild-type and mutant natural mouse embryos up to embryonic day 8.5.
- Gianluca Amadei
- , Charlotte E. Handford
- & Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz
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News |
When will China’s population peak? It depends who you ask
Data show the country is facing a demographic crisis, with an ageing population and young couples having fewer children.
- Yvaine Ye
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Outlook |
The hormonal keys to depression
Science is only now uncovering the complex interaction between hormones, neurosteroids and mood disorders.
- Bianca Nogrady
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Article
| Open AccessA condensate dynamic instability orchestrates actomyosin cortex activation
A phase portrait study is presented that shows the chemically driven dynamics of short-lived F-actin-rich condensates that support actomyosin cortex formation.
- Victoria Tianjing Yan
- , Arjun Narayanan
- & Stephan W. Grill
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News Feature |
Hybrid brains: the ethics of transplanting human neurons into animals
Transplanting human cells into animal brains brings insights into development and disease along with new ethical questions.
- Kendall Powell
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News & Views |
Eggs remodel energy production to protect themselves from harm
Egg cells need to stay out of harm’s way to keep the next generation healthy and free of unwanted mutations. A mechanism by which eggs avoid the ravages caused by harmful reactive oxygen species has now been discovered.
- Deepak Adhikari
- & John Carroll
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Article
| Open AccessOocytes maintain ROS-free mitochondrial metabolism by suppressing complex I
Oocytes prevent the production of reactive oxygen species by remodelling the mitochondrial electron transport chain through elimination of complex I, a strategy that enables their long-term viability.
- Aida Rodríguez-Nuevo
- , Ariadna Torres-Sanchez
- & Elvan Böke
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Article |
Retrograde movements determine effective stem cell numbers in the intestine
Small intestinal crypts contain twice as many effective stem cells as large intestinal crypts, and this difference is determined by the degree of Wnt-driven retrograde cell movement—which is largely absent in the large intestine—counteracting conveyor-belt-like upward movement.
- Maria Azkanaz
- , Bernat Corominas-Murtra
- & Jacco van Rheenen
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Article
| Open AccessSingle-cell roadmap of human gonadal development
This study provides a comprehensive spatiotemporal map of human and mouse gonadal differentiation, using a combination of single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, chromatin accessibility assays and fluorescent microscopy, which can guide in vitro gonadogenesis.
- Luz Garcia-Alonso
- , Valentina Lorenzi
- & Roser Vento-Tormo
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Article
| Open AccessA time-resolved, multi-symbol molecular recorder via sequential genome editing
A DNA memory device, DNA Typewriter, uses sequential prime editing to record the order of multiple cellular events.
- Junhong Choi
- , Wei Chen
- & Jay Shendure
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Article |
Spatial profiling of early primate gastrulation in utero
3D transcriptomes reveal the molecular code of lineage specification in the primate embryo and provide an in vivo reference to decipher human development.
- Sophie Bergmann
- , Christopher A. Penfold
- & Thorsten E. Boroviak
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Article |
Lifelong multilineage contribution by embryonic-born blood progenitors
In situ barcoding and fate mapping in mice reveals that an early wave of progenitor specification, driven by embryonic multipotent progenitor cells, gives rise to adult blood independently of haematopoietic stem cells.
- Sachin H. Patel
- , Constantina Christodoulou
- & Fernando D. Camargo
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News & Views |
A chromosome predisposed for sex
A genome sequence for the flatworm Schmidtea mediterranea reveals a chromosome that might be primed to become a sex chromosome. The finding offers a remarkable chance to study the evolution of sex determination.
- Yuying Lin
- & Judith E. Mank
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News & Views |
Blood’s life history traced through genomic scars
Two studies of the mutations acquired by blood-forming cells over time provide insights into the dynamics of blood production in humans and its relationship to ageing.
- Aswin Sekar
- & Benjamin L. Ebert
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Article |
Generation of specialized blood vessels via lymphatic transdifferentiation
A study of zebrafish identifies an innate mechanism of blood vessel formation through the transdifferentiation of lymphatic endothelial cells, and provides in vivo evidence for a link between cell ontogeny and functionality in endothelial cells.
- Rudra N. Das
- , Yaara Tevet
- & Karina Yaniv
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News Round-Up |
Parasite names, mouse rejuvenation and toxic sunscreen
The latest science news, in brief.
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Article |
Gibbin mesodermal regulation patterns epithelial development
Characterization of Gibbin, encoded by AHDC1, offers insights into the epidermal and mesodermal patterning phenotypes seen in Xia–Gibbs and related syndromes in humans, which derive from abnormal mesoderm maturation as a result of gene-specific DNA methylation decisions.
- Ann Collier
- , Angela Liu
- & Anthony E. Oro
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Article |
Maternal inheritance of glucose intolerance via oocyte TET3 insufficiency
Pregestational hyperglycaemia in mothers increases the probability of glucose intolerance in the offspring, an effect controlled by TET3-dependent DNA demethylation of genes involved in insulin secretion.
- Bin Chen
- , Ya-Rui Du
- & Hefeng Huang
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Article |
Hmx gene conservation identifies the origin of vertebrate cranial ganglia
In the tunicate Ciona intestinalis, the homeobox transcription factor Hmx drives differentiation of bipolar tail neurons, indicating conserved regulation and function, and homology with cranial sensory ganglia in higher vertebrates.
- Vasileios Papadogiannis
- , Alessandro Pennati
- & Sebastian M. Shimeld
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News & Views |
Young cerebrospinal fluid improves memory in old mice
Infusion of cerebrospinal fluid from young mice into old mice restores memory recall in the aged animals by triggering production of the fatty myelin sheath that insulates neurons in the brain.
- Miriam Zawadzki
- & Maria K. Lehtinen
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News |
Young brain fluid improves memory in old mice
A protein in cerebrospinal fluid helps boost cells that maintain brain function.
- Jude Coleman
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Article |
Olfactory sensory experience regulates gliomagenesis via neuronal IGF1
A mouse model of gliomagenesis reveals that olfaction can directly regulate the genesis of gliomas, showing that sensory experience and gliomagenesis are linked and providing insight into the neural circuitry involved.
- Pengxiang Chen
- , Wei Wang
- & Chong Liu
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Article |
Tbx2 is a master regulator of inner versus outer hair cell differentiation
Tbx2 is a master regulator of cochlear inner hair cells.
- Jaime García-Añoveros
- , John C. Clancy
- & Anne Duggan
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News & Views |
Stretched skin cells divide without DNA replication
Analysis of zebrafish larvae reveals that epithelial cells in their skin undergo tension-driven division without DNA replication. This allows rapid expansion, enabling the cells to cover the fast-growing organism.
- Aki Stubb
- & Sara A. Wickström
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News & Views |
Tension hones body segmentation around the clock
The formation of body segments in vertebrate embryos has long been attributed to the spatio-temporal patterning of molecular signals. But segment length in zebrafish is now found to be adjusted by tissue mechanics.
- Miki Ebisuya
- & Xavier Trepat
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Article |
Skin cells undergo asynthetic fission to expand body surfaces in zebrafish
Terminally differentiated superficial epithelial cells continue dividing in the absence of DNA replication to quickly expand epithelial coverage during rapid growth.
- Keat Ying Chan
- , Ching-Cher Sanders Yan
- & Chen-Hui Chen
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Article |
Left–right symmetry of zebrafish embryos requires somite surface tension
In zebrafish embryos, initial somite anteroposterior lengths and positions are imprecise and, as a consequence, many somite pairs form left–right asymmetrically.
- Sundar R. Naganathan
- , Marko Popović
- & Andrew C. Oates
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Nature Video |
The lifespan secret: why giraffes live longer than ferrets
Ageing is linked to accumulated mutations - according to new research.
- Dan Fox
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Nature Podcast |
Why do naked mole rats live as long as giraffes?
Identifying how animals’ mutation rates line up with their longevity, and what the war in Ukraine means for emissions.
- Nick Petrić Howe
- & Benjamin Thompson
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Article |
Chemical reprogramming of human somatic cells to pluripotent stem cells
Human somatic cells were reprogrammed to human chemically induced pluripotent stem cells that demonstrate key features of embryonic stem cells.
- Jingyang Guan
- , Guan Wang
- & Hongkui Deng
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Article |
Mapping human haematopoietic stem cells from haemogenic endothelium to birth
The HSC signature RUNX1+HOXA9+MLLT3+MECOM+HLF+SPINK2+ distinguishes haematopoietic stem cells from their endothelial precursors and differentiated progenitors throughout ontogeny
- Vincenzo Calvanese
- , Sandra Capellera-Garcia
- & Hanna K. A. Mikkola
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Article |
A complete temporal transcription factor series in the fly visual system
A complex regulatory network of temporally expressed transcription factors in Drosophila optic lobe stem cells regulates the generation of all neuronal diversity.
- Nikolaos Konstantinides
- , Isabel Holguera
- & Claude Desplan
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Article
| Open AccessCompartmentalized metabolism supports midgestation mammalian development
Metabolomics analysis of the mouse embryo shows a metabolic shift towards the tricarboxylic acid cycle between gestational days 10.5 and 11.5, leading to the subsequent development of organ-specific metabolic programmes.
- Ashley Solmonson
- , Brandon Faubert
- & Ralph J. DeBerardinis
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News & Views |
Cell position matters in tumour development
Skin cells called melanocytes are not equally affected by the same genetic changes. Their ability to form tumours has now been linked to gene-expression programs that are selectively activated according to a cell’s anatomical position.
- Jean-Christophe Marine
- & María S. Soengas
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Article |
Human distal lung maps and lineage hierarchies reveal a bipotent progenitor
Spatial transcriptomics and single-cell profiling identify previously uncharacterized cell types of human terminal and respiratory bronchioles, and show that cell differentiation and lineage trajectories are distinct from those in the mouse lung.
- Preetish Kadur Lakshminarasimha Murthy
- , Vishwaraj Sontake
- & Purushothama Rao Tata
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Article |
Human distal airways contain a multipotent secretory cell that can regenerate alveoli
Human respiratory bronchioles contain a unique population of secretory cells called respiratory airway secretory cells that are distinct from the cells in the larger proximal airways, and act as unidirectional progenitors for alveolar type 2 cells.
- Maria C. Basil
- , Fabian L. Cardenas-Diaz
- & Edward E. Morrisey
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Article
| Open AccessThe development and evolution of inhibitory neurons in primate cerebrum
Evolutionary modelling shows that an initial set of inhibitory neurons serving olfactory bulbs may have been repurposed to diversify the taxonomy of interneurons found in the expanded striata and cortices in primates.
- Matthew T. Schmitz
- , Kadellyn Sandoval
- & Alex A. Pollen
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Technology Feature |
Molecular barcodes reveal tumour lineages
Researchers are blending tools from developmental biology with technologies such as cell sorting and CRISPR to gain fresh insight into cancer.
- Jyoti Madhusoodanan
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Article |
Rolling back human pluripotent stem cells to an eight-cell embryo-like stage
The development of a transgene-free, rapid and controllable method for producing eight-cell-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells provides a valuable resource to study early human embryogenesis.
- Md. Abdul Mazid
- , Carl Ward
- & Miguel A. Esteban
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News & Views |
Light-dependent development is tailored in visual neurons
When mouse pups first open their eyes, what they see shapes neuronal connectivity. A study shows that this visual experience has cell-type-specific effects, acting only on a subset of malleable neurons.
- Sergi Roig Puiggros
- & Denis Jabaudon
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