Many mouse somatic clones arrest at implantation with a pattern of developmental failure that resembles that of Oct4-deficient mouse embryos – a transcription factor-encoding gene required for inner cell mass (ICM) development. To investigate whether somatic clone embryonic development fails because of the incomplete reactivation of genes, likeOct4, that are required for the development of a pluripotent ICM,Bortvin and colleagues analysed the expression of 10 genes with anOct4-like embryonic expression pattern, and Oct4 itself, in cloned blastocysts derived from cumulus and ES cells. Their findings, onp. 1673, show that only 62% of cumulus-derived blastocysts correctly express all eleven genes tested, whereas ES cell-derived and normal embryos express them normally, indicating that the incomplete reactivation of such genes might contribute to the embryonic failure of somatic clones.
Development presents... live stream of our upcoming Journal Meeting
Watch a session from Development’s next Journal Meeting, Unconventional and Emerging Experimental Organisms in Cell and Developmental Biology live on the Node on Monday 18 September at 16:00 BST (15:00 UTC).
Navigating a research career with a disability
Our two recent Perspectives articles explore the lived experiences of disabled scientists in our community. Kelsey L. Anbuhl and colleagues describe the lived experiences of five biologists who share the challenges and successes of undertaking a scientific career with a disability. Whereas Jack Darius Morgan reviews the literature exploring disabled scientists’ experiences in academia.
Focus on regeneration
Tissue regeneration is a fascinating phenomenon, but the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying regeneration remain incompletely understood. Here, Development has collated a series of articles showcasing some of the most recent advances in regenerative biology.
Keeping up with the Node: Lab meetings
Keep up with the Node 'Lab meeting' posts as the platform regularly highlights development and stem cell biology labs from across the globe and showcases research and researchers from the community. August featured the Nichols lab at the University of Edinburgh, read their 'Lab meeting' article here.
Read & Publish Open Access publishing: what authors say
We have had great feedback from authors who have benefitted from our Read & Publish agreement with their institution and have been able to publish Open Access with us without paying an APC. Read what they had to say.
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