Category: 7. Science

Newswise — Animals, from worms and sponges to jellyfish and whales, contain anywhere from a few thousand to tens of trillions of nearly genetically identical cells. Depending on the organism, these cells arrange themselves into a variety of tissues and organs, such as muscles, sensory systems, or the gut. While not all animals have each of these tissues, they do all have one tissue, the germline, that produces sperm or eggs to propagate the species.

Scientists don’t completely understand how this kind of multicellularity evolved in animals. Cell-to-cell adhesion, or the ability for individual cells to stick to each other, certainly plays a role, but scientists already know that the proteins that serve these functions evolved in single-celled organisms, well before animal life emerged.

Now, research from the University of Chicago provides a new view into key innovations that allowed modern, multicellular animals to emerge. By analyzing the proteins predicted from the genomes of many animals (and close relatives to the animal kingdom), researchers found that animals evolved a more sophisticated mechanism for cell division that also contributes to developing multicellular tissues and the germline.

“This work strongly suggests that one of the early steps in the evolution of animals was the formation of the germline through the ability of cells to stay connected by incomplete cytokinesis,” said Michael Glotzer, PhD, Professor of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology at UChicago and author of the new study. “The evolution of three proteins allowed both multicellularity and the ability to form a germline: two of the key features of animals.”

Positioning the division plane

Cell division, or cytokinesis, is the process by which a cell divides into two distinct daughter cells. Many of the proteins involved with cytokinesis are ancient, present long before the first Metazoa arose about 800 million years ago.

Glotzer has been studying animal cell division for several decades, focusing on how cells determine where to divide. In animal cells, a structure called the mitotic spindle segregates the chromosomes before the cells divide; it also dictates the position where cell division occurs. Glotzer and his team homed in on a set of three proteins—Kif23, Cyk4, and Ect2—that bind to each other and the spindle, and which are directly involved in establishing the division plane. Close relatives of these proteins had only been found in animals previously.

Two of these proteins, Kif23 and Cyk4, form a stable protein complex called centralspindlin that Glotzer and his colleagues discovered more than 20 years ago. Not only does centralspindlin contribute to division plane positioning, but it also generates a bridge between the two incipient daughter cells.

The cells that make up non-germline tissues and organs are called somatic cells, which are not passed on to the next generation. Germline cells are special because they can become any cell type. During the development of sperm and eggs, these cells also recombine the chromosomes they inherited from their parents, generating genetic diversity. While centralspindlin-dependent bridges are generally severed in somatic cells, the germlines of most animals have cells that remain connected by stable bridges.

Tracking down the proteins

Given the recent explosion in genome sequence data now available for a wide range of animals, Glotzer first wanted to determine if the two proteins that make up the centralspindlin complex, as well as Ect2, the regulatory protein that binds to it, were present and well conserved in all animals. During his analysis for this study, which was published in Current Biology, he found that all branches of animals have all three of these proteins.

Studies of these proteins in species commonly used in the lab discovered common patterns that are linked to their known functions. Using Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold AI platform (developed by UChicago alum and recent Nobel Laureate John Jumper), Glotzer was able to predict the interactions among these different proteins and found that every interaction is likely conserved across all animals. This suggests that these proteins were all in place at the beginning of the animal kingdom more than 800 million years ago and have not undergone any dramatic changes since that time.

Next, Glotzer wondered whether any related proteins could be found in single-celled organisms. He identified somewhat related proteins in choanoflagellates, the group of single-celled creatures most closely related to animals. Alphafold predicted that some of them can form a complex somewhat like centralspindlin. Though related, these complexes are clearly distinct from centralspindlin, and they lack the sequences that allow Ect2 to bind to the structure. Remarkably, some choanoflagellate species that have this complex can form colonies via incomplete cytokinesis too.

“Pre-metazoan cells have mechanisms of dividing and separating, probably with some themes and variations. Then this protein complex allowed cells to stop at the stage just before separation,” Glotzer said. “Maybe multicellular life evolved because of a genetic change that prevented cells from fully separating.”

“A mutation that disrupted the assembly of centralspindlin is what allowed my colleagues and me to find these proteins in the first place, more than 25 years ago,” he continued. “And it appears that the evolution of this exact same region contributed to the evolution of animal life on the planet, which is mind blowing.”

The study, “A key role for centralspindlin and Ect2 in the development of multicellularity and the emergence of Metazoa,” was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Paleontologists have identified a new genus and species of mid-sized pareiasaur from two fossilized specimes found in China in 2018.

Named Yinshanosaurus angustus, the newly-identified species roamed Earth during the latest Permian period, between 259 and 254 million years ago.

The ancient beast was a member of Pareiasauria, a specialized group of herbivorous tetrapods that existed throughout the supercontinent Pangea during the Middle-Late Permian.

“Pareiasauria are a bizarre herbivorous clade of tetrapods that existed in the Guadalupian and Lopingian and were victims of both the Late Capitanian and the end-Permian mass extinction events,” said Dr. Jian Yi and Jun Liu from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Chongqing Institute of Paleontology.

“Pareiasauria has a worldwide distribution, with fossils discovered in Africa, Europe, Asia and South America.”

“Pareiasaurs were common primary consumers in several terrestrial tetrapod faunas, including the Late Permian fauna of northern China.”

“Since the 1960s, eight Chinese pareiasaur species have been described.”

Two specimens — a nearly complete skull and an articulated partial postcranial skeleton with a nearly complete skull — were unearthed in China in 2018.

“The first specimen was excavated form the dark purple siltstone in the lower part of the Sunjiagou Formation, near Zhangjiagetuo village, Baode county, Xinzhou city, Shanxi,” the paleontologists said.

“The second specimen was excavated from purplish silty mudstone in the upper part of Member I of the Naobaogou Formation, near Qiandian village, Shiguai district of Baotou City, Nei Mongol.”

According to the authors, Yinshanosaurus angustus had the narrowest skull of all pareiasaurs, with skull length more than twice the skull width at the lateral edges of the cheeks.

“The skeleton of Yinshanosaurus angustus provides the complete cranial and articulated postcranial details of Chinese pareiasaurs for the first time,” they said.

Their paper was published this month in the journal Papers in Palaeontology.

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Jian Yi & Jun Liu. 2025. The tetrapod fauna of the upper Permian Naobaogou Formation of China: a new mid-sized pareiasaur Yinshanosaurus angustus and its implications for the phylogenetic relationships of pareiasaurs. Papers in Palaeontology 11 (3): e70020; doi: 10.1002/spp2.70020

Scientists have launched menstrual cups into space for the first time, testing whether these reusable devices can withstand the extreme conditions of space travel. The AstroCup mission represents a key step toward giving female astronauts sustainable menstrual health options during long duration missions to the Moon and Mars.

Since Sally Ride’s historic space shuttle flight in 1983, when NASA famously asked if 100 tampons would be enough for a week long mission, managing menstruation in space has been an ongoing challenge. Currently, most female astronauts use hormonal contraception to suppress menstruation entirely during missions. While this approach has practical advantages, it’s not suitable for everyone and raises health concerns for extremely long missions as we step further out into the Solar System.

Sally Ride was the first American woman in space. (Credit : NASA)

With ambitious plans for lunar bases and Mars expeditions that could last years or even decades, researchers recognised the urgent need for sustainable alternatives. An astronaut participating in multiple Artemis missions for example could face over a decade of menstrual suppression, while someone involved in the full program from 2025 to 2035 might require nearly 20 years of hormonal treatment.

Artemis I successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center on November 16, 2022. (Credit : Bill Ingalls)

The AstroCup team, led by L ́ıgia F. Coelho from Cornell University, launched four commercially available menstrual cups aboard the Baltasar rocket during a European competition in October 2022 with two cups flying into space while two remained on the ground as controls. The rocket reached over 3 kilometres altitude during a 9 minute flight that subjected the cups to forces 16 times greater than Earth’s gravity. Before and after the flight, researchers conducted rigorous testing using water and glycerol to evaluate the cups’ structural integrity and leak proof performance.

The space flown menstrual cups performed flawlessly. Visual inspections revealed no signs of wear or tear but more importantly, the cups showed no leakage of either test liquid, maintaining their seal integrity despite experiencing extreme acceleration forces, temperature changes, and pressure variations during flight. The payload’s onboard sensors recorded challenging conditions throughout the journey with temperatures ranging from 32-34°C, humidity dropping to 40%, and atmospheric pressure falling below 70,000 Pascals at peak altitude.

These results suggest that menstrual cups could be a viable solution for managing menstruation during space missions. Unlike disposable tampons or pads, reusable cups would dramatically reduce waste, a critical consideration in space where every gram matters and disposal options are limited. Beyond practical benefits, this research addresses astronaut autonomy and choice in healthcare.

A record four women simultaneously in space aboard the International Space Station in 2010. Clockwise from lower left: Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Naoko Yamazaki, and Stephanie Wilson. (Credit : NASA)

While encouraging, the AstroCup experiment was just a first step. The test occurred in Earth’s atmosphere and gravity, while the Moon has one-sixth Earth’s gravity and Mars has one-third. These different gravitational conditions could affect how menstrual fluid behaves when cups are removed or repositioned. Future studies must examine how the devices perform across multiple menstrual cycles, including cleaning and storage procedures in the environment of space.

The AstroCup mission proves that testing women’s health technologies for space is both feasible and necessary. With more women joining space programs around the world and missions growing longer, ensuring that female astronauts have safe, effective menstrual management options isn’t just a technical challenge, it’s a fundamental requirement for the future of human space exploration.

Source : One Giant Leap for Womankind: First Menstrual Cups Tested in Space Flight Conditions

We’ve sent some pretty interesting payloads to space since the first satellite (Sputnik 1) launched on October 4th, 1957. As access to space has increased, thanks largely to the commercial space industry, so too have the types of payloads we are sending. Consider the Nyx capsule created by German aerospace startup The Exploration Company, which launched on June 23rd from the Vandenberg Space Force Base atop a Falcon-9 rocket as part of a rideshare mission (Transporter-14). The payload for this flight (dubbed “Mission Possible”) included the ashes and DNA of more than 166 deceased people provided by Celestis, a Texas-based memorial spaceflight company.

While the mission achieved orbit and a controlled reentry, the capsule’s landing parachutes failed to deploy before landing. This caused the Nyx capsule to crash in the Pacific Ocean on June 24th, causing all of its cargo to be lost at sea. This was the first time The Exploration Company sent customer payloads to space, equivalent to roughly 300 kg (660 lbs) of cargo. In a statement posted on LinkedIn, the company described the flight as a “partial success (partial failure).” Per their statement:

The capsule was launched successfully, powered the payloads nominally in-orbit, stabilized itself after separation with the launcher, re-entered and re-established communication after black out. But it encountered an issue afterwards, based on our current best knowledge, and we lost communication a few minutes before splashdown. We are still investigating the root causes and will share more information soon. We apologize to all our clients who entrusted us with their payloads.

We thank our teams for their hard work and their dedication to success. We have been pushing boundaries in record time and cost. This partial success reflects both ambition and the inherent risks of innovation. Leveraging the technical milestones achieved yesterday and the lessons we will extract from our ongoing investigation, we will then prepare to re-fly as soon as possible.

Artist’s impression of The Exploration Company’s Nyx capsule in orbit. Credit: The Exploration Company

This is also the second time Celestis has lost a payload, the previous having taken place in 2023 when a rocket containing the cremated remains of the late NASA astronaut Philip K. Chapman exploded over New Mexico. Celestis also released a statement of condolences to the families of the people whose remains were lost:

In the coming days, our team will reach out to each family individually to offer support and discuss possible next steps. Though we currently believe that we cannot return the flight capsules, we hope families will find some peace in knowing their loved ones were part of a historic journey, launched into space, orbited Earth, and are now resting in the vastness of the Pacific, akin to a traditional and honored sea scattering.

In addition to the human remains and other payloads, Nyx also carried cannabis plant matter and seeds provided by Martian Grow, an open-source citizen science project. The purpose was to study the effects of microgravity on the germination and resilience, potentially providing insight into how life could adapt and fare in the Martian environment. The first, Mission Bikini, launched a smaller reentry capsule in July 2024 atop an Ariane 6 rocket, but the capsule remained in orbit after the rocket’s upper stage failed to launch it on its reentry trajectory.

This latest mission aimed to test key technologies and verify the Nyx capsule’s ability to transport cargo to space. It is hoped that future iterations of the capsule will fly spacecraft to destinations in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), including the International Space Station (ISS) and/or its successor stations. To this end, the company plans to conduct a demonstration flight to the ISS in 2028, which is pending support from the European Space Agency. In the meantime, the company plans to move forward and incorporate the lessons of this latest mission.

Further Reading: Gizmodo

Researchers from the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have created a new nanopore sensor for single-biomolecule detection. Their findings were published in the journal PNAS. 

Nanopore sensors detect and analyze individual molecules by measuring ionic changes as the molecules pass through openings in the device. Nanopore sensors can be made from biological materials or inorganic solid-state materials. Biological nanopores are commercially available, but solid-state nanopores “offer a significant advantage over biological nanopores for massively parallelized, low-cost sequencing,” said Sihan Chen, an Illinois Grainger postdoctoral researcher and the lead author of the paper.

However, the sensor has to be small enough to have base-by-base resolution as single molecules pass through and to electrically read out the translocation of the molecules. This poses significant challenges in fabricating ultra-thin metal films encapsulated in dielectric layers. 

An innovative 2D design

This team brought together a nanopore sensor expert, Rashid Bashir, and a 2D materials expert, Arend van der Zande, to overcome the barriers presented by using ultra-thin 3D materials. 

The team integrated a 2D heterostructure into the nanopore membrane, creating a nanometer-thick out-of-plane diode for the molecules to pass through. This diode allows them to simultaneously measure the changes in electrical current during DNA translocation and apply out-of-plane biases across the diode to control the speed of the DNA translocation. 

Looking forward: important applications 

This device has potential applications in the future of precision medicine, a concept that dates back to the early 2000s but whose applications have lagged behind the initial enthusiasm. Also called personalized medicine, this approach to disease prevention and treatment is based on an individual patient’s genes, environment, and lifestyle. Creating tailored medicine and therapy regimens will require fast and affordable sequencing techniques such as this nanopore sensor. 

“In the future, we envision arrays of millions of 2D diodes with nanopores inside that could read out the sequences of DNA in parallel, reducing sequencing time from two weeks to as little as one hour,” said Rashid Bashir, Dean of The Grainger College of Engineering and an author of the paper. This could have important implications for precision medicine, making it easier and less expensive to create treatments tailored to a patient’s genetic makeup. 

The researchers anticipate further studies to improve on their design, particularly its single p-n junction, which limits the quality of control of DNA translocation. One possibility for future investigation is to use a three-layer structure to enable opposing electric fields to stretch the DNA and achieve base-by-base translocation control. 

“This work represents an important step towards base-by-base molecular control and opens doors to more advanced DNA sequencing technologies,” said Arend van der Zande, a professor of mechanical science and engineering and materials science and engineering. 

Precision medicine: a growing market 

According to Global Market Insights, the global precision medicine market is estimated at $79.9 billion in 2023, and is projected to reach $157.1 billion by 2032. 

Innovations in technology, like the new nanopore sensor, as well as the rising prevalence of cancer, are both factors that are expected to contribute to this growing market. Rising investments in human genome research will also contribute to market growth. The National Institute of Health provided $5.2 billion in funding for genome research in 2024. 

Personalized medicines accounted for 25% of the new drugs approved by the FDA in 2019, an increase from 5% in 2005, according to Global Market Insights. The number of personalized medicines on the market grew from 132 in 2016 to 286 in 2020.

Launching in the 2030s, GMT will be the world’s most powerful optical telescope. By producing images 10 times clearer than the Hubble Space Telescope, GMT will explore the distant universe, including the search for signs of life. Unique among the new class of “extremely large telescopes,” GMT will feature the widest field of view with adaptive optics to correct for blur caused by Earth’s atmosphere. 

As a partner, Northwestern will contribute its expertise in astrophysics, artificial intelligence (AI) and engineering. Specifically, Northwestern scientists will develop and apply AI tools to enhance GMT’s abilities to search for Earth-like planets across the Milky Way, probe the universe’s most energetic explosions and explore the relationship between galaxies and black holes.

Backed by nearly $1 billion in private funding — the largest private investment ever made in ground-based astronomy — the Giant Magellan is built by an international consortium of 15 universities and research institutions. Along with Northwestern, other partners include the University of Arizona, Carnegie Institution for Science, The University of Texas at Austin, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, University of Chicago, São Paulo Research Foundation, Texas A&M University, Harvard University, Astronomy Australia Ltd., Australian National University, Smithsonian Institution, Weizmann Institute of Science, Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics and Arizona State University.

About 40% of the Giant Magellan is already under construction, with major components manufactured and tested in facilities across 36 states in the U.S., including advanced optics and primary mirrors in Arizona, science instruments in multiple states including Texas and the telescope mount structure in Illinois. At the observatory’s privately owned site in Chile, major infrastructure progress includes utilities, roads, support structures and a fully excavated foundation for the enclosure.

“The Giant Magellan Telescope represents a bold vision for the future of astrophysics,” Kalogera said. “Northwestern is proud to help shape this vision and to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers who will use this telescope to answer some of the universe’s biggest questions.”

Astronomers have discovered a distant galaxy that is a “cosmic fossil” which has remained “frozen in time” for billions of years.

Just as dinosaur fossils here on Earth are used to probe the evolution of life, this cosmic fossil in the form of the galaxy KiDS J0842+0059 could be used to understand cosmic evolution.