March 2025
Two lumberjacks are resting against a tree stump. Each radial line visible on the stump represents a series of descendant cells derived from the same cambium stem cell in the vascular cambium. The cambium stem cells have the ability to differentiate into both xylem and phloem, playing a crucial role in the secondary growth (lateral growth) of plants. In cases where the stem cells were not labeled, the signal does not appear as continuous lines; instead, only the labeled, non-dividing differentiated cells are visible as isolated dots. We referred to the research of Dr. Dongbo Shi (RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science).
January 2025
The first sunlight of 2025 illuminates the Meoto-iwa (a pair of rocks resembling a married couple). The shapes of these rocks are somewhat unique, resembling the gut morphology of the male (left) and female (right) adult Drosophila. Blackie et al. used micro-CT (computed tomography) to scan numerous adult Drosophila and revealed detailed sex differences in the geometry of organ spatial arrangements, including the gut (Blackie et al. (2024) Nature 630: 392-400, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07463-4).
