Recent knowledge about metamorphosis and adult organ formation of ascidians is reviewed, in order to elucidate the molecular similarities with those in vertebrates.
WIREs Authors
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Serotonin Neuron Development: Shaping Molecular and Structural Identities
Serotonin neurons are highly plastic; their development, maturation and regeneration is controlled by a complex gene regulatory network in constant interaction with the environment. An overview article recently published in WIREs Developmental Biology offers an updated view of these fundamental developmental mechanisms, pointing to the many ways by which developmental dysfunction of serotonin systems might occur at different periods in life. This opens new possibilities for therapeutic intervention, which can range from prevention of risk to stem cell therapies.
Limbal Stem Cells for Treatment of Corneal Blindness
Limbal stem cells have attracted a lot of interest in the field of regenerative medicine because of their unique ability to fully restore the whole cornea upon transplantation. Several important aspects of limbal stem cell biology are reviewed such as limbal stem cell identification, developmental origin and therapeutic potential.
RNA Nanotechnology and Biomedical Applications: RNA Versatility, Flexibility and Thermostability
Recent advances in fabricating RNA nanostructures are highlighted, including their applications in vivo as imaging or therapeutic devices via specific delivery and targeting, or intracellular expression and assembly.
Water Technology, Knowledge and Power. How to Address Them All?
A review by Aubriot and co-workers aims to understand how scientific literature has addressed, whether explicitly or implicitly, the relationship between water knowledge, technology and power.
Cellular Therapeutics: Small Molecule Signaling, Regulation, and Potential Applications
Small molecules have many important roles across the tree of life.
Citizen Science for Hydrological Risk Reduction and Resilience Building
Citizen science projects work best when there is community buy-in, when their purposes are clearly defined at the outset, and when the motivations and skill-sets of all participants and stakeholders are well understood.
Household Electricity Pricing: Dynamic Pricing under Different Taxation Schemes
The observed behavior in the Danish electricity retail market is considered, arguing that benefits of dynamic pricing should be analyzed with consumers’ adoption decisions in mind.
Environmental Humanities and Climate Change: Equity and Justice beyond Humans
A review by Libby Robin considers historically how the environment and the humanities became conceptualized together
Hearing Crosstalk: The Molecular Conversation Orchestrating Inner Ear Dorsoventral Patterning
Schoenwolf et al. focus on the crosstalk that occurs among three families of secreted proteins to progressively polarize and pattern the developing otocyst dorsoventrally.