How does a tiny cluster of cells become an embryo with a head, trunk, and tail? And how do thousands of genes coordinate this development? A new imaging method makes it possible to visualize the activity of thousands of genes simultaneously throughout the entire zebrafish embryo. Using this technology, a research team at the University of Basel, Switzerland, has created an atlas of all genes and cells involved in turning a cluster of cells into an embryo.

Biologists at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have uncovered how the protein NuSAP safeguards tiny structures inside cells called centrioles, revealing a mechanism linked to developmental disorders such as microcephaly and mosaic variegated aneuploidy (MVA) syndrome.

Parasites may do more than weaken animals – they can reshape the signals used to choose mates. Studying male green treefrogs in the wild, researchers found that tongueworm infections subtly alter mating calls, changing their frequency and duration. Females avoided the most heavily infected males but sometimes favored moderately infected ones, suggesting they weigh multiple cues at once. The findings reveal how parasites can influence sexual selection by reshaping the acoustic signals females use to evaluate potential mates.

Boron agents termed GluBs, developed by Science Tokyo researchers, overcome a key limitation in cancer therapy by entering tumor cells through a pathway that standard drugs cannot use. The GluBs target ASCT2, a transporter abundant in aggressive cancers such as glioblastoma and breast cancer, rather than the LAT1 route. Results from cell and animal studies show the agents were safe and effective in limiting tumor growth, indicating potential to treat cancers with limited LAT1 expression.

Researchers have developed a capsule-based method that makes it possible to analyse the same cell through multiple experimental steps. The technology overcomes a long-standing limitation in cell research and could open new ways to study disease mechanisms at the single-cell level.