Issue #18 — Pathways

This issue of Basically, Science is all about Pathways.

Developing brains, waking from anesthesia, growing roots, distant black holes. This edition explores the branching points, unexpected turns and processes that shape how things develop, change and reach their destinations.

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Using MADM (Mosaic Analysis with Double Markers), neurons can be tracked in vivo (in a living organism) in mice, and their lineage can be reconstructed. © Nadine Poncioni/ISTA

The Brain's Early Fork in the Road

The brain's complex network of neurons begins taking shape earlier than previously thought. Research by Irene Varela-Martínez and colleagues, published in Science Advances, reveals how precursor cells in the developing mouse cerebral cortex branch into distinct lineages, challenging the long-held view that different types of neurons emerge in a fixed sequence.

Alessandro Venturino (left) and Sandra Siegert (right). Siegert and her team found very few studies in which ketamine had been tested in females.© ISTA

After the Anesthesia: A Question of Sex

What happens in the brain as consciousness returns after anesthesia? In female mice recovering from ketamine, immune cells called microglia interact closely with neurons, helping reshape their connections. This response was not observed in males. Sandra Siegert, Alessandro Venturino and colleagues report their findings in Science Advances, highlighting intriguing differences in how brains recover.

The Black Hole Star represents a new kind of astrophysical object—a black hole enshrouded in dense gas effectively radiating like a star.

Newly Identified Black Hole Star Raises Big Questions

How did supermassive black holes grow so quickly in the early Universe? A mysterious object spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope may offer clues. Dubbed a “black hole star,” it appears to be a growing black hole wrapped in dense gas with unique star-like qualities. Jorryt Matthee, Rohan Naidu and collaborators describe their discovery in Nature.

The roots of plants bend away from decaying plant material (in the center). This process—newly identified by researchers at ISTA and Northwest A&F University in China—is called saprotropism. © Bao et al./Science

Schmid speaks at the ISTA Graduation Ceremony in June 2022. © Anna Stöcher/ISTA

XISTA, ISTA and the Federation of Austrian Industries came together to host "bigX 2026: Found in Translation" in collaboration with the Medical University of Vienna.