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Stubborn Stem Cells hold their own

Researchers from the Babraham Institute show that the first cell fate decision in development is much more robust than previously appreciated.

The initial cell fate decision in development creates two distinct cell populations: trophoblast cells that go on to form the yolk sac and placenta, and embryonic cells that develop into the embryo itself and all subsequent cell types of the body.

Dr Hemberger and her team attempted to reprogram embryonic stem (ES) cells to become trophoblast-like stem cells (TS) and found that the ES cells were virtually impossible to fully overwrite.

The image shows ES cells reprogrammed for 5-6 weeks towards a TS-like fate. Markers of true TS identity (shown as green and red, cell nucleic are in blue) were unstable and frequently lost in these reprogrammed TS-like cells showing that the identity of ES cells cannot be overwritten.

This new understanding of the first cell fate decision is instrumental in developing the ability to manipulate stem cells for regenerative medicine approaches, and will help to advance our understanding of the most common pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia and foetal growth restriction.

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Birds learn 'traditions' from others around them

Birds can learn copycat foraging ‘traditions’ by watching others around them, researchers have shown in an ingenious experiment.

The scientists worked with eight populations of great tits in Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire, UK.

In five populations, two birds were trained to slide a puzzle box door either left or right to get food. In three control groups, two were captured but not trained. The birds were then released back into their original populations, alongside puzzle boxes revealing tasty mealworms when opened from either side.

Despite both methods working equally well, each population strongly favoured the puzzle-solving solution introduced by the trained birds, and the preference for this arbitrary solution increased over time, forming a stable tradition.

Even when birds discovered both solutions, they preferred to use the locally common solution, suggesting that they were conforming to local norms in behaviour.

In the control populations it took much longer for birds to learn to solve the puzzle.

When the experiments were repeated a year later, each population still favoured their ‘traditional’ method even though only a minority of each population were survivors from the previous year.

The research is the first experimental demonstration of the spread of culture in a wild non-primate. The team included scientists from the University of Ottawa, Canada, the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia and the University of Exeter, UK.

Image credit: Molly Harwood

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Tricking virgin female mosquitoes into thinking they've had sex could reduce the spread of malaria.

Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, the main transmitters of malaria, only mate once in their life cycles.

A hormone is passed to the female mosquito during sex which induces her to lay eggs and makes her unreceptive to other potential mates.

Scientists from Imperial College London, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and the University of Perugia, Italy think this could prove an Achilles heel. If they could mimic this hormone in virgin females they wouldn’t mate and would effectively be sterilised.

Although a female only mates once she can lay several batches of eggs, making An. gambiae the most efficient vector of the human malaria parasite. Malaria is a leading cause of death in tropical and subtropical regions. The World Health Organisation estimates that malaria causes over 650,000 deaths each year, 90 per cent of them in Africa – and most of them children.   

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Antibiotics VS bacteria, fungi and a sneaky virus.

It's European Antibiotic Awareness Day - make sure to swat up on your antibiotic knowledge.

Winners announced – Knit-a-bug: The Great British Bioscience Knitting Competition

As part of the Great British Bioscience Festival, BBSRC asked knitters from across the country to pick up their needles and get creative with bioscience. Amongst the entries received were some of the world’s most fearsome bacteria and viruses that can impact human and animal health such as bovine TB, Ebola, HIV and C. diffiicile.

Winning and shortlisted entries (see above) will be on display at the Great British Bioscience Festival, 14-16 November, Museum Gardens, Bethnal Green, London.

1st Prize (middle image): “Sam and Ella Sandwich” – Lynette Brocklehurst

The last thing you might expect to find in your sandwich is “Sam and Ella” (Salmonella). This nasty bug causes salmonellosis, a common foodborne disease with symptoms of fever, diarrhoea and vomiting. Eating contaminated foods such as raw eggs and green vegetables is the main route of transmission, but proper preparation such as washing and correct cooking can help to minimise risk.

Runner up (bottom left)– “E.coli” – Alison Hogg

E.coli is a bacteria found in the intestines of both humans and animals. There are however, a number of strains of E.coli which can cause serious infections such as gastroenteritis and urinary tract infections. This creative interpretation of E.coli has been knitted using dpn’s and then felted. Alison used the i-cord technique, and embroidered personalised features on to the bacteria.

Runner up (bottom right)– “Biofilm containing Streptococcus, Listeria and Virbrio” – Michele Clare

Group B Streptococcus (dark blue), Listeria (yellow) and Virbrio (teal) – a variety of bacteria that can cause foodborne infections of varying severity.

The Rock Goby – a master of camouflage

These images show how the humble rock goby (Gobius paganellus), a fish found in rock pools around Britain, southern Europe, and North Africa, is a master of camouflage, rapidly changing colour to conceal itself against the background in just 60 seconds.

Dr Martin Stevens from the University of Exeter, who has been studying their camouflage abilities said: “Anyone who’s been rock pooling will probably have encountered rock gobies, and may even have thought they could see them change colour in buckets. Our research shows that this is the case and that rock gobies can rapidly tune their appearance to match their background.” 

Gobies face threats at low tide from birds and at high tide from larger fish. To remain concealed they must respond quickly as they are pushed over many different backgrounds by tides and waves.

The colour change is driven by special cells in the fishes’ bodies called ‘chromatophores’. Found in many animals these cells condense or spread pigments of different colour over the body. This process is guided by the visual system of the goby when it moves onto a new background.

Images copyright: Alice Lown, University of Exeter