A stretch of viral DNA in the mouse genome gives cells in early-stage embryos the potential to become almost any cell type in ...

Infertility is a major healthcare concern. Understanding the molecular regulators governing fertilization, early embryonic ...

A new study from the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) in London, UK reveals how ancient viral DNA once written off as "junk" plays a crucial role in the earliest moments of life. The research, ...

In the earliest hours after fertilization, an embryo takes its first steps toward becoming a living organism by shedding maternal control and activating its own genetic program. This critical process, ...

Magdalena (Magda) Zernicka-Goetz, today a developmental and stem cell biologist at the University of Cambridge and California Institute of Technology, recalled being an artistic child who enjoyed ...

The mystery of early embryonic communication is starting to be unraveled thanks to a new stem cell-based model.

Over half of our genomes consists of thousands of remnants of ancient viral DNA, known as transposable elements, which are widespread across the tree of life. Once dismissed as the "dark side" of the ...