Magic embryology: rapid stem cell differentiation (Introduction)

by David Turell , Sunday, April 19, 2020, 22:58 (1458 days ago) @ David Turell

It occurs earlier than thought:

https://phys.org/news/2020-04-stem-cells-human-embryos-commit.html

"Our biological history can be traced back to a small group of cells called embryonic stem cells, which through cell division, give rise to cells that specialise to perform a specific role in the body—a process known as differentiation.

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"As part of the research, published in Cell Stem Cell, Crick scientists found that embryonic stem cells differentiate unexpectedly early, irreversibly committing to become each of the more than 200 cell types in the body.

They showed this was as a result of a newly identified small group of genes becoming activated, which they named 'early-commitment genes'.

"'Working with stem cells and mathematical models, we've identified a new class of genes which are responsible for regulating one of the earliest stages of human development," says Silvia Santos, author and group leader in the Quantitative Cell Biology Laboratory at the Crick.

"'Once these genes are activated, it's a question of minutes before the cells fully commit to differentiation. The speed of this is incredibly surprising, especially if you consider how the first signs of differentiation, that's the embryo developing the first embryonic germ layers, take about three days. These layers ultimately give rise to all the tissues in the growing foetus weeks later."

"The researchers focused on one early-commitment gene, called GATA3. When this gene was activated experimentally in the lab, embryonic stem cells quickly committed to differentiation. On the other hand, when this gene was deleted, this process was sluggish and not quite right.

"'GATA3 is crucial to the healthy, timely differentiation of stem cells. Once it's switched on, this gene triggers a positive feedback loop, which helps it stay active. In turn, this ensures that the cells remain differentiated, and do not reverse back to a stem cell state," says Alexandra Gunne-Braden, co-lead author and postdoc in the Quantitative Cell Biology Laboratory at the Crick.

Comment: when life was single-celled, reproduction was simply cells splitting. The evolution of sexual reproduction has never been explained by evolution theory. It is high complex, and must be tightly controlled to avoid errors, noting the high speed of the process. This research tells us something of how it works, not how it was created. Design is required by a designer.