Lu et al. develop human neural organoids that recapitulate self-organized peripheral and central neural co-development. This model reveals Wnt signaling’s bidirectional role in fate determination, uncovers lineage-specific disease phenotypes, and facilitates visual teratogenic risk assessment, thereby providing a physiologically relevant platform for neurogenesis research, disease modeling, and drug discovery.

Using rapid SPT5 depletion, Dulja et al. uncover different molecular phenotypes at different embryonic stages. In early embryos, SPT5 depletion shifts Pol II from the pausing site to the +1 nucleosome, while in late embryos Pol II moves past the +1 nucleosome causing up- and downregulation of expression and lethality.

Many salt-tolerance QTLs have been identified in rice, but only a few underlying genes have been cloned and mechanistically characterized. Feng et al. identify TOLS1, a major QTL gene encoding a protein that enhances OsRacB GTPase activity, thereby attenuating salt-induced cytosolic Ca2+ signaling and modulating rice salt tolerance.

Durik et al. show that senescent cells generate fragments, termed SCAFs, that support survival by shedding damaged intracellular material. SCAF rupture releases DAMPs, amyloid-like proteins, and bioactive cargo, promoting wound-healing and cancer-associated programs. These findings identify fragmentation as a previously unrecognized hallmark of senescence with implications for aging, cancer, and neurodegeneration.

In this review, Li et al. discuss the diverse functions of synergid cells at different reproductive stages, including pollen tube guidance, pollen tube reception, and fertilization recovery, to ensure double fertilization success in flowering plants. They also highlight unanswered scientific questions and future directions in synergid cells research.

Gioftsidi, Hayashi, et al. uncover that in mouse neonatal hindlimb muscles Pax7 progenitors generate both myogenic and non-myogenic cells, including a specific subpopulation of fibroblast-like cells, which they call Pax7FAPs. This multipotency declines with age, but perinatally-derived Pax7FAPs can be found in adult muscle.

Intratumoral heterogeneity fuels cancer progression through poorly understood cooperative mechanisms. Kong et al. reveal that tumors exploit interclonal Hedgehog-Wnt crosstalk to drive “tumor-promoting cell competition,” where dying subclones secrete signals that transform neighbors into invasive super-competitors, identifying a conserved therapeutic vulnerability in pancreatic cancer.

Li et al. show that the VHL-HIF axis controls invariant NKT cell development. VHL loss stabilizes HIF1α, which drives iNKT cell apoptosis and blocks iNKT2 fate via mitochondrial metabolism, and HIF2α, which suppresses iNKT17 specification through IL2RA-STAT5 signaling, impairing antitumor immunity.

Why do mammalian species develop at different speeds? Nakanoh, Stamataki, et al. show that mouse neural progenitors have faster protein synthesis and proteasome-mediated degradation than human. Manipulating proteasome activity alters the pace of neural development, implicating protein turnover in the evolution of developmental tempo.

Using dynamic SILAC proteomics, Matsuda et al. show that protein degradation is globally slower in human than in mouse segmentation clock cells. Glycolysis inhibition in mouse partially phenocopies the human protein stability profile, linking metabolism, protein stability, and developmental tempo.

Lee and Kim et al. generate elongating heart organoids (EHOs) from human induced pluripotent stem cells. EHOs undergo elongation and looping-like morphogenesis and establish venous-arterial axial patterning with venous pole-initiated contractile propagation. EHOs provide a human platform to study early cardiac morphogenesis and congenital heart disease.

He et al. show that PRR9 contributes to thermal adaptation by transmitting temperature signals and maintaining a relatively stable circadian period across a range of temperatures. The study provides insight into how the circadian clock mediates diurnal and seasonal temperature-sensing.

In this review, Zhang et al. discuss recent advances in spatial omics and their applications to human development. They highlight how spatial profiling, combined with stem cell-derived organoids and c...

In this review, Sakers et al. discuss how astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocyte lineage cells actively regulate neural circuit formation, refinement, and stabilization. They propose that coordina...

In this review, Chen et al. discuss how three types of RNA modifications—noncanonical caps, m6A, and pseudouridine—regulate animal and plant development. Elucidating the underlying mechanism and funct...

Nature Cell Biology - Relative tension shapes embryos

In this review, Sakers et al. discuss how astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocyte lineage cells actively regulate neural circuit formation, refinement, and stabilization. They propose that coordina...