Ovarian ageing is a primary cause of declining female fertility, characterised by a reduction in both oocyte number and quality. A new study from Professor Lin Liu and Professor Zhengmao Zhu’s team at the College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, published in Science China Life Sciences, reveals that induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) reprogrammed from granulosa cells of reproductively aged mice exhibit a markedly reduced capacity to differentiate into primordial germ cell‑like cells (PGCLCs). This defect cannot be rescued by simply improving mitochondrial function, but inhibition of the ERK/MAPK signalling pathway significantly enhances differentiation efficiency. The findings provide new insights into the decline of germ‑cell regenerative potential during ovarian ageing and identify a potential intervention target for future fertility restoration using autologous cells.

The Human-Environment Connection and Interaction Atlas (HECIA) is a tool for designing habitats in space and other extreme environments, where crews can not just survive but thrive. Users can explore the relationships between aspects of a habitat’s design and an inhabitant’s mental, emotional, and social wellbeing.

The launch of Neuropsychiatric Research provides a much-needed interdisciplinary platform bridging neurology, psychiatry, developmental neuroscience, and translational medicine, aiming to address the growing global burden of neuropsychiatric disorders affecting over 1 billion people.