Sarah Robertson

A single-cell time-series atlas of endothelial cell embryonic development The STED-EC atlas enables inter-organ and multi-time-point comparisons of gene expression in endothelial cells, revealing substantial transcriptomic variations across endothelial cells from different ...

#Medsky🧪 A comprehensive single-cell atlas of endothelial cell (EC) development during mouse embryonic stages, covering 8 major organs and 26 time points.
The atlas reveals that

@cellpress.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

It's a dangerous complication of pregnancy -- but a new drug holds promise Researchers celebrate early results of a drug that may become the first treatment for a serious complication of pregnancy called preeclampsia. It's got the potential to save many lives.

Researchers celebrate early results of a drug that may become the first treatment for a serious complication of pregnancy called preeclampsia. It's got the potential to save many lives.

Laws restricting abortions linked to rise in 'abhorrently high' maternal mortality rates Rising state-level abortion restrictions in the United States were linked to a similar, parallel rise in maternal deaths from 2005 to 2023, according to research presented at The Pregnancy Meeting. ...

Researchers have found that 6 of 10 abortion restrictions — bans on Medicaid funding for abortion, mandated waiting periods, 2nd-trimester abortion bans, ACA marketplace insurance coverage bans, biased counseling laws, and ultrasound requirements — were linked to higher rates of maternal mortality.

Horrible news. Each of these are future cases of horrible, painful, devastaing cervical cancer in the making.
This is a safe and hugely effective vaccine.

Endogenous retroviruses synthesize heterologous chimeric RNAs to reinforce human early embryo development Zygotic genome activation (ZGA) failure leads to developmental arrest and poses a clinical challenge to women’s fertility. We observed that human embryos arresting at the eight-cell ZGA stage exhibite...

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Prior abortion or miscarriage not linked to increased risk of pre- or postmenopausal breast cancer A prior abortion or miscarriage was not linked with an increased risk of developing pre- or postmenopausal breast cancer in a study published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica.

A new study has shown that miscarriage or induced abortion is NOT a potential risk factor for breast cancer, contrary to continued anti-choice propaganda. Even several abortions or miscarriages does not increase risk. The study used high-quality Finnish registry data.

Plasma markers of neurological injury are elevated in preeclampsia Preeclampsia, a medical complication of pregnancy, is associated with central nervous system (CNS) signs and symptoms, such as headache, hyperexcitabi…

Plasma markers of neurological injury are elevated in preeclampsia

“Plasma biomarkers of neuroaxonal injury, NfL and pNfH, are elevated in women with preeclampsia across multiple races in 2 independent cohorts.”

Programmed mitophagy at the oocyte-to-zygote transition promotes lineage endurance - Nature Cell Biology Thendral et al. describe a mitophagic programme that removes deleterious mtDNA during the oocyte-to-zygote transition in Caenorhabditis elegans, promoting mitochondrial health and offspring survival. ...

☕Thendral et al. describe a mitophagic programme that removes deleterious mtDNA during the oocyte-to-zygote transition in C. elegans, promoting #mitochondria health and offspring survival. Loss of this #mitophagy leads to mutant mtDNA accumulation.
👉https://rdcu.be/e3tpJ
bit.ly/4aqi7Zk

Risk and burden of adverse birth outcomes associated with flood exposure in China: A 4.4 million mother-infant cohort study The risks and attributable burden of adverse birth outcomes from flooding remain unclear. Here, we analyzed a nationwide cohort of over 4.4 million mo…

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Age‐Associated Inflammatory Monocytes Are Increased in Menopausal Females and Reversed by Hormone Replacement Therapy Post-menopausal females (> 64 years) have an increase in frequency of inflammatory monocyte populations with defective phagocytosis as compared to pre-menopausal (< 40 years) females. Hormone Replace....

I am so proud to say that our paper is now available at Aging Cell. There is a paucity of data as to how the menopause impacts your immune system, and the aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the menopause on monocyte phenotype and function.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Harnessing comparative biology to understand climate change induced heat stress impacts on maternal and offspring health at University of Edinburgh on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Harnessing comparative biology to understand climate change induced heat stress impacts on maternal and offspring health at University of Edinburgh, listed on FindAPhD.com

We have a PhD studentship available starting in October 2026. Investigating climate change heat stress impacts on maternal and child health. Get in touch if you have questions! www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Seminal fluid expands the uterine gamma/delta T cell pool during early pregnancy in mice Seminal fluid elicits an immune response in the uterine mucosa after mating that impacts embryo implantation and pregnancy, but the underlying molecul…

Very happy to have our new paper published - nice work from @Kerrie_Foyle @Dexter_HY_Chan and the team providing new insight on regulation of the uterine immune response. “Seminal fluid expands the uterine gamma/delta T cell pool during early pregnancy in mice” www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Sex differences in tissue-specific immunity and immunology Biological sex exerts a substantial influence on the immune system and immune-related diseases. Males are more susceptible to the acute effects of viral disease and certain cancers, whereas females ex...

Researchers in a recent #ScienceReview examine the influence that biological sex exerts on the immune system and immune-related diseases.

Learn more: https://scim.ag/48YKHAe

Climate of fear: are CSIRO’s sweeping job cuts a sign Australia doesn’t care about the extinction crisis? Ever decreasing funding for the globally respected government agency mirrors an industry-wide trend that could hinder scientific breakthroughs

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

More than 80 nonprofits receive $250M for global women's health from Melinda French Gates More than 80 organizations that provide health care for women all over the world received grants Wednesday totaling $250 million from Melinda French Gates after a y…

financialpost.com/pmn/more-tha...

Covid vaccines may increase the lifespan of cancer patients – this could be a game changer | Devi Sridhar A study suggests mRNA vaccines could help the body fight malignant cells, says Prof Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Congratulations Prof Louise Hull and IMAGENDO team for #winn2025 @robsinstitute.bsky.social @adelaideuni.bsky.social Technology Award for revolutionary endometriosis diagnosis!!

1/ Evolutionary trade-offs between intergenerational and transgenerational fitness effects

Transgenerational / intergeneration fitness effects can be adaptive, but they can also trade-off with each other:

New work led by Isaac Harris, preprint:

tinyurl.com/yp2b6tjm

A photo of a Nobel medal

BREAKING: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi "for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance"

Stay tuned for more.
#NobelPrize

Fathers shape embryonic development through molecular ‘signatures’. Credits: Daniela Velasco/EMBL

New research from EMBL Rome shows how paternal environment prior to conception can shape early embryo development.

These findings are a step toward understanding the mechanism of epigenetic inheritance, opening up new possibilities for disease prevention.
www.embl.org/news/science...

In a first, a gene therapy seems to slow Huntington disease Small study suggests uniQure drug could be first successful treatment for devastating brain disorder

In a first, a gene therapy seems to slow Huntington disease
Small study suggests uniQure drug could be first successful treatment for devastating brain disorder
BYJOCELYN KAISER

🧪 www.science.org/content/arti...

Congratulations Kelly! Great to see your excellent science recognised!

Congratulations to Dr Kelly Walton (UQ), recipient of the 2025 Robinson Research Institute Award for Excellence in Reproductive Biology Research.

Kelly's research has led to the development of TGF-β technologies for modulating reproductive and metabolic function

👏👩‍🔬

One mother for two species via obligate cross-species cloning in ants - Nature In a case of obligate cross-species cloning, female ants of Messor ibericus need to clone males of Messor structor to obtain sperm for producing the worker caste, resulting in males from the same moth...

For article: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

‘Almost unimaginable’: these ants are different species but share a mother Ant queens of one species clone ants of another to create hybrid workers that do their bidding.

Very cool biology - how Iberian harvester queens clone M. structor ants to maintain a supply of their sperm - then mate with those M. structor ants to produce hybrid workers that take care of the colony www.nature.com/articles/d41...

FEBS | EMBO Women in Science Award 2026 for Carola García de Vinuesa – Press releases – EMBO She is recognized for advancing the understanding of autoimmune diseases and bringing science into the public eye

Congratulations to Carola García de Vinuesa on receiving the 2026 FEBS | EMBO #WomenInScience Award! She is recognized for advancing the understanding of autoimmune diseases and for her impact within the #LifeSciences community, in particular in public engagement: www.embo.org/press-releas... 🧪

Congratulations @pepinlab.bsky.social for this well-deserved recognition - and thankyou for your important advances in reproduction science bringing practical benefits to people and animals around the world #reprodbiol

Mitochondria: More Than Just a Powerhouse Pioneering biochemical studies have long forged the concept that the mitochondria are the ‘energy powerhouse of the cell’. These studies, combined with the unique evolutionary origin of the mitochondr...

“mitochondria are an integral part of multiple cell signaling cascades…. involved in bi-directional communication between the mitochondrial reticulum and the rest of the cell… a central platform in the execution of diverse cellular events” www.cell.com/current-biol...

RFK Jr.’s mRNA Betrayal: How Political Ideology Trumped Nobel Prize-Winning Science Every layer of institutional knowledge validated this public-health technology. Yet it’s being overruled based on a politically torqued misreading of what vaccines are supposed to do.

“His decision represents something more troubling than mere scientific illiteracy. It reflects a broader failure of understanding in regard to how we evaluate medical interventions and what constitutes success in public health.” quillette.com/2025/08/08/r...

These genes can have the opposite effects depending on which parent they came from New approach finds ‘parent-of-origin’ effects in more than a dozen genes — without the need for parental data.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...