The Dance of Life

October 21, 2019
Developmental biologist and Caltech professor Zernicka-Goetz brings significant credentials in embryology to her debut, an uneven but illuminating popular science work. Zernicka-Goetz, writing in the first person with Highfield (Super Cooperators, coauthor), does a good job of describing the scientific process and the excitement of discovery, and of recounting the process behind her breakthroughs, such as identifying when and how the first cells in an embryo break symmetry, which allows differentiation and development to occur. Not neglecting her field’s harsher side, she acknowledges the criticism this discovery initially received from skeptical fellow scientists, and credits the support of “family, friends, and colleagues” with allowing her to persevere until a refined lab test finally confirmed her finding. Zernicka-Goetz also describes how she, with her team, created a lab protocol that doubled the time in which human embryos could be studied in vitro, and how they greatly advanced the understanding of developing embryos’ self-repair mechanisms. All of this science is understandably explained and graspable for nonspecialists. Unfortunately, the final chapter, on the struggles women face in science, is too abbreviated to do justice to such an important topic. Nonetheless, Zernicka-Goetz and Highfield’s informative professional memoir has much to engage readers.

December 15, 2019
A foray into the developmental biology of individual cells in an embryo. While Zernicka-Goetz (Biology and Bioengineering/Caltech) and co-author Highfield (The Science of Harry Potter: How Magic Really Works, 2002, etc.) discuss how the cells of early embryos arise, how they organize with such precision and direct their own development, and how they sense when something goes wrong, this is not a primer on embryology but rather an in-depth journey through the world of the research embryologist. Following the biology takes patience and focus for those not well versed in the science--"the mitochondrially targeted zinc-finger nuclease, or mitochondria-targeted transcription activator-like effector nucleases, enzymes that can be engineered to snip specific sequences of DNA, are used to recognize and then eliminate mutant mitochondrial DNA"--but the effort is repaid in spades. Readers engage with the whole process of fertilization as well as cellular specialization, cell cleavage, two-cell biases, and the developmental process. In her research, Zernicka-Goetz makes movies of fluorescently labeled cells "because they talk to each other with proteins and other molecular factors and respond to their surroundings." We learn that cooperation allows specialization and promotes diversity, spurring the embryo to self-organize. We follow the "dance" as the embryo becomes a multilayered organism. There are also intriguing discussions of how a blastocyst's three types of cells arise and how they interact to make something as complex as the human body. The story has a memoirlike atmosphere, especially when Zernicka-Goetz turns to episodes of her life. But she is never far from the science, as when she writes about her pregnancy and her son, who had chromosome irregularities, which became a topic of her research. Particularly beguiling is a chapter devoted to advances in creative biology--regenerative medicine, preimplantation testing, designer babies, embryo editing, genome editing--and all the attendant ethical concerns that surround them. Meaty and entertaining, with the effort extended well worth the energy.

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January 1, 2020

Biologist Zernicka-Goetz (Univ. of Cambridge) and Highfield (director, external affairs, Science Museum Group) present the latest research on the unanswered questions surrounding the development of a human embryo. How does a tiny cluster of cells coordinate the precise timing of events that unfold as it develops? How do the cells both develop individually and cooperate with each other? The moment when cells begin to make choices, such as whether to become embryo or placenta, head or heart, is called symmetry breaking. The authors describe the early days of research on this phenomenon, including a vital contribution from computer scientist Alan Turing. Zernicka-Goetz discovered that symmetry breaking starts very early in development; in the mouse, at the two-celled stage. It took another ten years to determine the mechanism, based on the level of activity of a particular protein-coding gene in each cell. The authors also discuss issues surrounding using human embryos in research; genetic editing of embryos; and the implications of the research for infertility, prevention of birth defects, and regenerative medicine. VERDICT Of interest to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of human fertility and development.--Rachel Owens, Daytona State Coll. Lib., FL

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