Repetitive elements shape embryonic chromatin landscape

Retrotransposons are repetitive elements that form almost half of the mammalian genome. Even though they are so common, they have previously been considered to be fairly insignificant. Together with colleagues from the USA, ...

Scientists discover plant 'brain' controlling seed development

A new study by scientists at the University of Birmingham has revealed a group of cells that function as a 'brain' for plant embryos, capable of assessing environmental conditions and dictating when seeds will germinate.

Friction shapes zebrafish embryos

A simple ball of cells is the starting point for humans—and zebrafish. At the end of embryonic development, however, a fish and a human look very different. The biochemical signals at play have been studied extensively. ...

New tools to study the origin of embryonic stem cells

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified cell surface markers specific for the very earliest stem cells in the human embryo. These cells are thought to possess great potential for replacing damaged tissue but ...

Scientists grow mouse eggs from stem cells in lab

Japanese scientists said Monday they had grown mouse eggs entirely in the lab, then fertilised them to yield fertile offspring, a scientific first cautiously hailed by experts in human reproduction.

Newly discovered gene critical to embryo's first days

A previously unknown gene plays a critical part in the development of the human embryo during the first days of fertilisation, researchers from Karolinska Institutet show. The paper, which is published in the scientific journal ...

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