stem cells

Biology

Stem Cell Models Reveal Earliest Stages of Human Placenta

Researchers at Columbia University have developed three-dimensional stem cell models that recreate the initial structural formation of the human placenta. Described in a paper published in Nature Cell Biology, this biological invention allows scientists to observe how embryonic cells organize outside the womb. The platform offers a new path to examine why early implantation fails and how pregnancy complications emerge.

Biology

Why ASPM Mutations Strike the Human Brain Harder Than Other Mammals

Genetic mutations linked to microcephaly leave human brains severely underdeveloped while sparing laboratory mice with the same defect. A research team at the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Neuroscience has resolved this evolutionary puzzle by tracking early cellular growth in human tissue models. Their scientific innovation shows that defects in the ASPM gene selectively target the stem cells that allow human brains to expand.