In this newsletter we describe how, when a fertilized egg divides, differences between the resulting cells emerge sooner than was previously thought, with these differences helping to determine whether a cell becomes part of the embryo or part of the placenta. Plus, increasing insect biodiversity, and the importance of immigrants in science.
– Peter Rodgers, Chief Magazine Editor
The human papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for most cervical cancers. Image credit: NIAID (CC0)
Five or six days after a fertilized human egg starts to divide, some cells begin to specialize into the inner cell mass, which will develop into the embryo, with other cells going on to give rise to the placenta. For decades, it was thought – based on experiments with mice – that this specialization did not start until late in the eight-cell stage of the embryo, when the orientation of each cell was defined by a ‘cap’ made of polarity proteins. Now, as highlighted in this Insight article, differences between cells start to emerge earlier than was previously thought, and at different times in different cells. In particular, cells with lower levels of an enzyme called CARM1 tend to polarize early and become part of the placenta in mice, while cells with higher levels of this enzyme tend to polarize later and become part of the embryo. Extending these insights to human embryos could improve our understanding of embryo quality and its relationship to successful pregnancy outcomes.
In this essay Eve Marder describes how her grandparents left Austria in 1938, the year the Nazis invaded, and ended up in the United States nine months later. A rug that her grandmother had made before the invasion arrived in New York after the war ended, and is currently on the living room floor of Marder’s apartment in Boston. “Every day”, writes Marder, “[the rug] reminds me of displaced families and political events that alter family history. As the rug ages, it reminds me of the extraordinary resilience shown by my grandparents, and by so many other enforced migrants then and now.” Marder concludes by discussing the damage being done to science, education and health care in the US by an administration that is targeting immigrants and curbing international mobility and collaboration in science.
Uveal melanoma is a type of eye cancer with a 50% chance of spreading to the liver. One promising approach for treating uveal melanoma is to target a protein complex called BAF, usually by inhibiting the ATPase subunits that provide the energy that BAF needs to remodel chromatin in cells. However, this approach has had limited success to date. Now, as outlined in this Insight article, researchers have discovered two inhibitors that have structures and modes of action that are different to those of existing inhibitors. The researchers also showed that one of the inhibitors was tolerated in a mouse model of uveal melanoma and caused dose-dependent tumor regression. The next step will be to show that these inhibitors are safe to use in humans.
Monitoring the health of women who have been treated for cervical cancer is challenging, especially when the cancer returns or spreads. A promising method is to test the blood for tumor markers because blood-based tests are less invasive than existing approaches, and also provide quicker results. Now, based on a study of 28 women with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer, researchers have shown that testing the blood for fragments of DNA from HPV – the virus that is responsible for most cervical cancers – can help predict how well treatment is working, how the disease is progressing, and the likelihood of recurrence.
Insects are the largest and most diverse group of animals on planet earth, comprising approximately 80% of all animal species. They also have crucial roles in many ecosystems: they are a source of food for other animals, they recycle organic matter and nutrients, and they pollinate crops and control pests. However, insect biodiversity is declining worldwide, partly due to many farms growing just one crop species at a time. Now, based on an analysis of four years of data from four farms in the Netherlands, researchers have shown that strip cropping – growing a diversity of crops in narrow, alternating strips – can increase both insect biodiversity and insect numbers without reducing crop yield.
Research students are mostly satisfied with their PhD experience, but financial pressures are a problem for many, as are harassment and discrimination, according to a survey of 3785 PhD candidates published in Nature. 78% were satisfied with the independence and flexibility offered by their PhD, and 73% were satisfied with their relationship with their supervisor. However, 42% reported feeling under financial pressure, and 41% felt under pressure to publish. Worryingly, 43% had experienced discrimination or harassment during their PhD, and this figure rose to 47% for international students and 55% for ethnic minorities. Bullying was the most prevalent form of harassment, being reported by 13% of respondents.
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