Pressing Pause

Ageing takes a toll on our bodies, often affecting fertility. But at the tips of these fruit fly (Drosophila ovaries, scientists discover a clever trick that prolongs the life of germline stem cells destined to become eggs (black dots). Six weeks old is 'getting on a bit' for a fruit fly – those pictured on the top find their ovaries shrinking, yet the similarly aged flies on the bottom appear more youthful, and with a greater number of stem cells. These flies were deprived of juvenile hormone – a gentle stress that mimics diapause – a sort of protective state that the fly enters in times of adversity. Chemical treatments restore juvenile hormone signals and 'unpause' the diapause so ageing (and development) can continue. Searching for similar mechanisms in humans may help to solve issues with fertility and keep other stem cells fresh as we age.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image adapted from work by Sreesankar Easwaran and colleagues
• Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Nature Communications, February 2022