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Metabolism Can Shape Cells' Destinies


A growing body of work suggests that cell metabolism — the chemical reactions that provide energy and building materials — plays a vital, overlooked role in the first steps of life.

A growing body of work suggests that cell metabolism — the chemical reactions that provide energy and building materials — plays a vital, overlooked role in the first steps of life. “The animal knows there’s something wrong at a metabolic level, and it releases signals to slow down development,” said the geneticist Jason Tennessen of Indiana University, who led the fruit fly studies. With the help of specific enzymes, molecules that scientists call “chemical modifications” or “epigenetic marks” attach to the histones and cause the DNA to unspool, exposing different genes for activation.

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