445 million years ago, life on our planet was forever changed. During a geological blink of an eye, glaciers formed over the supercontinent Gondwana, drying out many of the vast, shallow seas like a sponge and giving us an ‘icehouse climate’ that, together with radically changed ocean chemistry, ultimately caused the extinction of about 85% of all marine species – the majority of life on Earth.

In a new Science Advances study, researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) have now proved that from this biological havoc, known as the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction (LOME), came an unprecedented richness of vertebrate life. During the upheaval, one group came to dominate all others, putting life on the path to what we know it as today: jawed vertebrates.

Using a tiny, acid-tolerant yeast, scientists have demonstrated a cost-effective way to make disposable diapers, microplastics, and acrylic paint more sustainable through biomanufacturing. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Penn State University developed a bio-based method to produce 3-Hydroxypropanoic acid (3-HP), a precursor chemical for the acrylic acid used in those products, and validated its commercial potential for this lucrative market. The scientists are all part of the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Research Center.

Tissue engineering the pancreas: Working with three-dimensional pancreatic models (organoids), derived from mouse cells, researchers combined computer simulations with experiments to find out what controls the shape of lumens (fluid-filled cavities) during the development of the pancreas.

Proliferation, Pressure, Permeability: The shape of the lumen depends on the balance between the cell proliferation rate and the pressure in the lumen. Low pressure and high proliferation produce more complex or ‘star-shaped’ lumens. The pressure in lumens remain low because the surrounding pancreatic tissue is permeable.

Implications for organ development and disease: The discovered mechanisms can be potentially relevant to other organs with complex ductal systems and to common cystic diseases. Furthermore, these findings could be used to develop new therapeutic strategies, including testing the effects of drugs for diseases.