The court’s strategy of avoidance and delay cannot last and may have been shaped by a desire to avoid controversy in an election year.Superficially, abortion rights had a good run at the Supreme Court this term. Two weeks ago, the justices unanimously let an abortion pill remain widely available. On Thursday, the court dismissed a case about Idaho’s strict abortion ban, which had the effect of letting emergency rooms in the state perform the procedure when the patient’s health is at risk.But the two rulings were so technical as to be ephemeral. They seemed designed for avoidance and delay, for kicking a volatile subject down the road — or at least past Election Day.Some supporters of abortion rights called the rulings Pyrrhic victories, ones they feared would set the stage for more restrictions, whether from the courts or from a second Trump administration.In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the 2022 decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court signaled that it sought to get out of the abortion business. “The authority to regulate abortion must be returned to the people and their elected representatives,” Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote for the majority.The two recent rulings were generally consistent with that sentiment, though Justice Alito himself was eager to address Thursday’s case. “Apparently,” he wrote, “the court has simply lost the will to decide the easy but emotional and highly politicized question that the case presents. That is regrettable.”The majority took a different view, but its strategy of evasion cannot last, said Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

This article is part of our Pets special section on scientists’ growing interest in our animal companions.Many students begin veterinary school with career aspirations that date back to childhood, when they fell in love with the idea of ministering to cats and dogs, or horses, or the exotic animals at the zoo. Jessie Sanders arrived at veterinary school with a more particular passion. “I was the one weird fish kid,” she said.It was an interest that had surprised even her. In college, Dr. Sanders had started volunteering at an aquarium, hoping to work with the whales. Instead, she found herself assigned to the fish team — and falling hard for her finned charges.“I just love fish,” she said. “I love the way they’re built. I love the way they interact with the environment. And there’s still so much that we just don’t know about all the little internal workings.”Today, Dr. Sanders runs Aquatic Veterinary Services, with patients that include carnival goldfish, pet store bettas and prizewinning koi worth tens of thousands of dollars. Last year, she became one of the first 10 veterinarians to receive a board certification in fish practice, a wholly new accreditation.Dr. Sanders spoke with The New York Times about life as a fish veterinarian. Her story was based on two conversations, and her responses were edited and condensed.I’ve done nothing but pet fish for 10 years, and it’s been awesome and challenging. I like the challenge of setting everything in an underwater environment. And the amount of personalities that you get in fish — they have so many little quirks. Some of them are super chill and nice, and some of them are complete terrors.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

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Children conceived by using egg or sperm donors have the same well-being outcomes as non-donor conceived people.
However, they are more likely to have identity difficulties and issues with trust. Secrecy and anonymity about their genetic parentage can have a profound impact on well-being say authors. They warn that children and adults conceived using donor gametes have not been centred in the assisted reproductive industry and more information is needed about adult wellbeing.
The study is published today in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology by researchers King’s College London. The study is the first systematic review of studies investigating the psychological experiences of donor conceived people through childhood and adulthood and is the largest body of evidence for this group.
More than 70,000 donor conceived people have been born in the UK since 1991 when records began, and a significant unknown number before this date, however little is known about their long-term psychological outcomes.
The review looked at 50 studies and 4,666 donor conceived children and adults, mostly from high-income Anglophone countries, and found most studies showed equivalent or better outcomes in donor conceived people including higher wellbeing scores, self-esteem and relationship warmth.
The findings also showed children fared better when they were told they were donor conceived early. In the UK, donor anonymity has been against the law for those conceived after 2005 but children must wait until they are 18 years old to access information.
However, there is no legal requirement for families to tell their children the truth about their genetic lineage. The proliferation of at-home commercial DNA testing can reveal family secrets and yield life-changing results. It is often adults, who were conceived before 2005 and have no legal right to information about their genetic identity, who have been left out of the research and been left behind by the fertility industry.
First author Dr Charlotte Talbot, who graduated from King’s College London and is an Academic Foundation Doctor, affiliated with the University of Birmingham, said: “This is the largest body of evidence we have for wellbeing for donor conceived children and adults but it’s a complicated picture. While most outcomes are the same or better for this group than non-donor conceived people, qualitative studies revealed common themes relating to mistrust and concerns about genetic heritage.”
Senior author Professor Susan Bewley from King’s College London said: “Donor conceived children are always planned for and wanted, as one or more of their parents would have had fertility issues. This might explain better relationships with their family and higher wellbeing. However, much of the conversation around innovation in the assisted reproductive industry concentrates on the customers and potential parents rather than the people they want to create. We need to be better about putting donor conceived offspring’s needs and priorities at the centre.”
Laura Bridgens, Founder of Donor Conceived UK (DCUK), said: “The use of a gamete donor for conception is a life-long intergenerational process with far reaching social implications. DCUK welcomes this systematic review as it highlights the necessity for further consideration for the long-term needs and outcomes of donor conceived people into adulthood. There is a duty of care by the government and the fertility industry to listen to the voices of adult donor conceived people to create a future in which charity sector intervention is not needed to repair the mistakes of the past.”

A study led by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers estimates that infant deaths in Texas increased more than expected in the year following the state’s 2021 ban on abortion in early pregnancy, especially among infants with congenital anomalies.
The Texas law prohibiting abortions after a fetal heartbeat could be detected — as early as five or six weeks — went into effect September 1, 2021. At the time, the law — Senate Bill 8, or S.B. 8 — was the most stringent state abortion law in the country. It did not allow exemptions for congenital anomalies.
The researchers’ analysis of monthly death certificate data in Texas and the rest of the United States found that between 2021 and 2022, infant deaths in Texas rose from 1,985 to 2,240, a year-over-year increase of 255 deaths. This corresponds to a 12.9 percent increase in infant deaths in Texas versus a 1.8 percent increase in infant deaths in the rest of the U.S. during the same period. The study defines infants as under 12 months old.
The study was published online June 24 in JAMA Pediatrics.
The findings come as more U.S. states enact stricter abortion laws following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, the landmark ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and returned abortion policymaking to the states.
To approximate the causal impact of S.B. 8, the authors narrowed their analysis to examine changes in the expected number of infant deaths in Texas from March to December 2022 — the time period that captures the first set of pregnancies under S.B. 8. The researchers estimate there were 216 excess infant deaths in Texas that would most likely not have occurred from March to December 2022 had the state’s abortion law not been in place. This is equivalent to a 12.7 percent increase above the expected 1,697 infant deaths for this time period. There were 1,913 observed deaths in Texas from March to December 2022.
An analysis of neonatal deaths — deaths in the first 28 days — found similar patterns, with an estimated 145 excess deaths in the post-policy period. These results were not observed in other states.

The new study is thought to be the first to examine how the Texas abortion ban may have impacted infant deaths in the state and is among the first to present evidence evaluating recent abortion bans and pre-viability restrictions. Prior research has shown that states with more abortion restrictions see more infant deaths than those without. The authors note that these earlier studies evaluate fundamentally different and less severe abortion restrictions and primarily examine correlation.
“Our study is particularly relevant given the June 2022 Dobbs Supreme Court decision that returned abortion lawmaking to states and subsequent rollbacks of reproductive rights in many states,” says Alison Gemmill, PhD, assistant professor in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health and one of the study’s lead authors. “These findings suggest that restrictive abortion policies may have important unintended consequences in terms of infant health and the associated trauma to families and medical costs.”
For their month-by-month causal analysis, the researchers drew from infant death certificates in Texas and 28 comparison states from 2018 through 2022. They excluded the District of Columbia and several states that had fewer than 10 infant deaths in any month from 2018 to 2022, as the exact counts are not provided in currently publicly available data. The researchers selected March 2022 as the first cohort exposed to the Texas abortion policy because these infants, if born full term, would have been approximately 10 to 14 weeks gestation when the Texas law went into effect in September 2021. Before S.B. 8’s enactment, people would have been able to seek termination in the event a fetal issue was detected during screening prior to 20 weeks gestation.
In an analysis of cause of death using all 2021 and 2022 death certificate data, the researchers found that Texas had atypical increases in infant deaths due to congenital anomalies, the leading cause of infant death. Infant deaths attributable to congenital anomalies increased 22.9 percent in Texas between 2021 and 2022 versus a decrease of 3.1 percent in the rest of the U.S. during the same period. Another divergent cause of death pattern in Texas was infant deaths from accidents, which increased by 21 percent in Texas versus a one percent increase in the rest of the U.S.
“Our results suggest that restrictive abortion policies that limit pregnant people’s ability to terminate pregnancies, particularly those with fetal abnormalities diagnosed later in pregnancy, may lead to increases in infant mortality,” says Suzanne Bell, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health and one of the study’s lead authors. “These findings make clear the potentially devastating consequences abortion bans can have on pregnant people and families who are unable to overcome barriers to this essential reproductive health service.”
The authors note that the data did not include maternal and clinical characteristics of infant deaths, thus limiting the authors’ ability to explore potential mechanisms behind these findings.
The researchers are currently studying the impact across socioeconomic groups that abortion bans have on live births and infant mortality in Texas and other states that banned abortion following Dobbs.
This study was supported by the Hopkins Population Center from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P2CHD042854).

The human body has sophisticated defenses against the deposition of calcium minerals that stiffen heart tissues, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and collaborators at UCLA Health and the University of Texas at Austin found in a new study that provides the first detailed, step-by-step documentation of how calcification progresses.
“Heart disease is the leading killer annually — about 18 million deaths per year — and that number is growing. A large proportion is the result of calcification,” said study leader Bruce Fouke, a U. of I. professor of earth science and environmental change and director of the Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center at Illinois. “When the aortic valve calcifies, an ultra-invasive surgery to replace the valve is the only option currently. That heightens the urgency to get a handle on this process to more effectively move forward with drug development and testing.”
The aortic valve is the portal through which oxygenated blood gets pumped out of the heart to the body, opening and closing more than 3 billion times during the average lifespan. Calcium deposits can grow within the three tissue flaps that make up the valve, called leaflets, stiffening them and leaving them unable to open all the way.
“With calcification in blood vessels, a stent can help, but you can’t do that with the aortic valve. Every organ in the body can be in perfect condition, but if the aortic valve stops functioning, that’s the end of that life,” said Mayandi Sivaguru, the first author of the paper and the director of the Cytometry and Microscopy to Omics Facility in the Carver Biotechnology Center.
Despite the prevalence and biological importance, little is known about how the calcium deposits form or grow. Fouke’s group has pioneered the field of “GeoBioMed,” a combination of geology, biology and medicine, and previously applied it to the study of kidney stones. In the new study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, Fouke’s group at Illinois teamed up with colleagues at the UCLA School of Medicine and the Jackson School of Geoscience at Texas to study and document the steps of calcium deposit formation in aortic valves from human cadaver hearts.
“We used more than 12 modalities of study, including optical microscopy, electron microscopy and spectroscopy, to investigate the nature and progression of mineralization and protein localization in the aortic valve for the first time. This multimodal analysis set us apart, uncovering a new line of evidence to better understand cardiovascular calcification,” Sivaguru said.
The starting point is healthy leaflet tissue. Then tiny spherules of calcium phosphate form in the smooth muscle layer of the leaflets.

Crucially, the team found that the form of calcium phosphate in the mineral deposits is not the same type as found in bone, called apatite, as has been widely thought. Instead, the deposits consist predominately of amorphous calcium phosphate, which has the ability to morphologically shapeshift and atomically rearrange.
As they grow, the spherules coalesce into layers that encrust and stiffen the collagen and smooth muscle fibers that give the leaflets their flexibility. These processes combine to form large nodules that rotate, touch each other and further stiffen the tissues.
“Immediately, we saw that the reactions within the tissues of the valves were virtually identical to those we’ve studied in coral reefs, hot springs and many other natural environments that harbor life-water-mineral interactions,” said Fouke, who is the Ralph E. Grim Professor at Illinois. “Our blood is saturated with calcium and phosphate. Calcification of collagen and growth of nodules is inevitable given our blood chemistry, biology and composition.
“However, the silver lining to all of this is that we also found that our body has evolved these incredibly intricate and effective processes to fight mineralization. It can’t stop it, but it can slow it down dramatically.”
The researchers found two defense mechanisms. As the tiny ACP spherules form and begin to coalesce, the heart tissues produce large amounts of the protein osteopontin. Osteopontin promotes apatite growth and calcification in bones and kidney stones, so the findings initially puzzled the researchers, Fouke said. But osteopontin has the opposite, inhibitory effect on ACP, slowing down collagen calcification and nodule aggregation.
“That’s why knowing it’s ACP instead of apatite is so important. Enhancing the release of osteopontin could be an important new target to slow down calcification to a level that it won’t be a threat or require surgical intervention,” Fouke said.

The body’s second defense is the very collagen where the nodules form. The researchers found that as the nodules start growing, the collagen fibers stretch around and contain them, forming a water barrier that further slows nodule growth.
In addition to investigating possible therapeutic applications of osteopontin to slow calcification, the researchers also hope their work opens new avenues of investigation into preventing initial growth and dissolving already-formed mineral deposits throughout the human body.
In collaboration with Mayo Clinic, the team is now applying their multimodal GeoBioMed approach to studying calcification in human breast tumors, a hallmark of the disease.
The Barbara and Ed Weil Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (grant OT2OD023848) and the UCLA Amara-Yad project supported this work.

Schizophrenia is a complicated mental health disorder accompanied by wide range of symptoms such as hallucinations, impaired cognitive ability, and disorganized speech or behavior. It has been associated with anomalies in neurotransmission due to the imbalance of chemical neurotransmitters. Current treatment strategies against schizophrenia involve the administration of antipsychotic drugs, which can cause adverse effects and are associated with a high risk of cardiovascular disease. Moreover, in patients, response to therapeutic drugs is often inadequate as the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a protective barrier of cells, strictly regulates the movement of ions and molecules into the brain.
To overcome the hurdle of BBB and facilitate the transport of therapeutic drugs into brain tissue to treat schizophrenia, researchers have explored the applicability of receptor-mediated transcytosis (RMT) using low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1). This research was conducted by team led by Associate Professor Eijiro Miyako from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), included Prof. Yukio Ago from Hiroshima University, Prof. Shinsaku Nakagawa from Osaka University, Prof. Takatsugu Hirokawa from Tsukuba University, and Dr. Kotaro Sakamoto, Senior Principal Scientist at Ichimaru Pharcos Co., Ltd. Their study was published in JACS Au journal on June 20, 2024.
The researchers were inspired by previous findings which showed the interactions of vasoactive intestinal peptide receptor 2 (VIPR2) gene duplication in schizophrenia and their own discovery of a novel peptide, KS-133. The novel peptide, KS-133, has selective antagonist activity to VIPR2, leading to its downregulation. However, the major limitation associated with KS-133 was its poor permeability across BBB.
To facilitate the effective transport of KS-133 into the brain, they developed a brain-targeting peptide, KS-487, that could specifically bind to LRP1 and influence RMT. Finally, the researchers developed a novel nanoparticle-based drug delivery system (DDS) where KS-133 peptide was encapsulated with KS-487 targeting peptide and studied its efficacy in treating schizophrenia.
The administration of peptide formulations via the DDS resulted in the effective distribution of the drug in the brains of mice. Drug release profiles assessed by pharmacokinetic analysis confirmed the role of the brain-targeting peptide in transporting KS-133 into the brain. Furthermore, the efficacy of DDS was evaluated in mice with induced schizophrenia by elevated activation of VIPR2. Mice treated with KS-133/KS-487 nanoparticles showed significant improvement in cognitive functions during novel object recognition tests, which could be attributed to the inhibition of VIPR2.
Explaining the real-life applications and potential of their study, Dr. Miyako shares, “Existing drugs only have mechanisms involving neurotransmitter modulation, and their therapeutic effects are limited, especially for cognitive dysfunction. Thus, our peptide formulation could be used as a novel drug to restore cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia.”
In summary, this study by Dr. Miyako and co-researchers provides preclinical evidence of a novel therapeutic strategy for targeting VIPR2 that could improve cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. “Going ahead, we will extend our study to involve cells and animal models, as well as human clinical trials, to confirm the efficacy and safety of this peptide formulation and promote its development as a new treatment for schizophrenia within 5 years,” concludes Dr. Miyako, optimistic about the long-term implications of their study.

A more accurate way to scan for tuberculosis (TB) has been developed by UK and US researchers, using positron emission tomography (PET).
The team, from the Rosalind Franklin Institute, the Universities of Oxford and Pittsburgh and the National Institutes of Health in the USA, have developed a new radiotracer, which is taken up by live TB bacteria in the body. Radiotracers are radioactive compounds which give off radiation that can be detected by scanners and turned into a 3D image.
The new radiotracer, called FDT, enables PET scans to be used for the first time to accurately pinpoint when and where the disease is still active in a patient’s lungs.
The researchers have put the new radiotracer through extensive pre-clinical trials with no adverse effects and it is now ready to go into Phase I trials in humans.
Published in Nature Communications, the research was funded by the Gates Foundation and UK Research and Innovation.
Two methods currently exist for TB diagnosis: testing for the TB bacteria in a patient’s spit or a PET scan to look for signs of inflammation in the lung, using the common radiotracer FDG.
However, a spit test can show a negative long before the disease has been fully treated in the lungs, which could result in patients finishing treatment too early.

Scanning for inflammation can be helpful in seeing the extent of the disease, but it is not specific to TB, as inflammation can be caused by other conditions. Inflammation can also persist in the lung after the TB bacteria has been eliminated, leading to treatment continuing longer than necessary.
The new approach developed by the researchers is more specific as it uses a carbohydrate that is only processed by the TB bacteria.
A key advantage of the new approach is that it only requires a hospital to have standard radiation control and PET scanners, which are becoming more widely available throughout the world. The new molecule is created from FDG using a relatively simple process involving enzymes developed by the research team. This means it can be produced without specialist expertise or laboratories and so would be a viable option in low- and middle-income countries with less developed healthcare systems. These countries currently see over 80% of global TB cases and deaths from the disease.
In 2021, 10.6 million people fell ill with TB and 1.6 million people died from the disease, making it the world’s second leading infectious killer after COVID-19.
Professor Ben Davis, Science Director of the Franklin’s Next Generation Chemistry group, led the research. He said: “Finding an accurate way to identify when TB is still active in the body is not only important for initial diagnosis, but to ensure patients are receiving antibiotics long enough to kill the disease, and no longer.
“The common radiotracer FDG and the enzymes we’ve developed to turn it into FDT can all be sent by post. With a minimum of additional training, this effective diagnostic in essence could be rolled out into most healthcare systems around the world — and most importantly, in the places where this disease is still taking its greatest toll.”
Dr Clifton Barry III, from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said: “FDT will enable us to assess in real time whether the TB bacteria remains viable in patients who are receiving treatment, rather than having to wait to see whether or not they relapse with active disease. This means FDT could add significant value to clinical trials of new drugs, transforming the way they are tested for use in the clinic.”

Being nursed by a single parent could be an evolutionary strategy to curb the spread of harmful microbes in mammals, according to a novel theory developed by mathematicians.
The rainforests of Malaysia are home to the only known case of a wild male mammal that produces milk. The Dayak fruit bat is a vanishingly rare case of male milk production, despite the fact that the potential for breastfeeding remains in place in most male mammals.
In the 1970s, evolutionary theorists posited that the near absence of lactation in males, even though offspring could benefit from the extra nutrition provided, could be attributed to the uncertainty of paternity: As male mammals can’t be sure they are the biological father, this reduces their evolutionary drive to invest heavily in offspring care, including breastfeeding.
Now, mathematicians from the University of York have suggested a complementary perspective. Their hypothesis, published in Nature Communications, suggests that the reason male mammals don’t breastfeed might be driven by the rich community of microbes that lives in breast milk and which plays an important part in establishing the gut microbiome of the infant.
The theory demonstrates how the transmission of the milk microbiome from both parents would allow harmful microbes to spread through mammalian populations. Maternal-only lactation stops this as restricting transmission of the milk microbiome to females in effect acts as a sieve, retaining just the microbes with beneficial effects.
One of the authors of the study, Dr George Constable from the Department of Mathematics at the University of York, said: “We became fascinated with this topic when we read about Azara’s owl monkeys. They turn previous assumptions about why males don’t breastfeed upside down because they are the most devoted dads in the primate world: They do 80-90% of childcare and only hand their babies back to their female partners for nursing.
“When both parents are involved in feeding, the chance of a microbe being passed along and getting an initial foothold in a population is essentially doubled. So our theory suggests selection against the transmission of harmful microbes through mammary milk could be an additional selection pressure against male lactation.”
First author of the study, Dr Brennen Fagan working at the Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity and the Mathematics Department at the University of York, added: “Breast milk is a living substance and it plays a key role in establishing the gut microbiome of mammals, which is a complex ecosystem of bacteria, viruses and fungi, along with their genetic material. This ecosystem plays a crucial role in health including by helping to protect animals against disease, helping to digest food and in many other ways we are only just discovering.

“While microbes are not inherently harmful or beneficial; it’s their presence and abundance that dictate the overall health of this internal community. A “wrong actor” at the early point of an animal’s life could change the microbiome at a pivotal moment.”
The mathematical model highlights the advantage of getting fed by just one parent, but the researchers say it makes evolutionary sense for this to be the mother because there has already been an inevitable transmission of microbes during birth and perhaps also in the womb.
Dr Constable added: “This theory fits with a pattern of strategies mammals have adopted in an evolutionary bid to limit the spread of potentially harmful elements. Notably, in humans mitochondrial DNA is exclusively passed down from the mother. This mechanism serves as a natural filter, maintaining genetic integrity by suppressing the proliferation of detrimental mutations. Additionally, the prevalence of monogamous relationships among certain species has been suggested as an adaptive response aimed at minimising the transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).”
The researchers caution that their hypothesis is not intended as the basis for any judgements about the different ways of feeding human infants.
Dr Fagan added: “Our model is very much focused on the long-term evolution of the animal kingdom. The model does not tell us about individual families making individual choices on how to safely feed their children, especially not for humans in the modern world.
“Our hypothesis fills a gap in evolutionary theory and is concerned with selection pressures on mammals at population level and over very long periods of time spanning multiple generations.”

A new study led by researchers at UCL and the University of Sheffield, has demonstrated the potential of stem cell therapy to treat those with Hirschsprung disease.
Hirschsprung disease is a rare condition where some nerve cells are missing in the large intestine. This means the intestine doesn’t contract and can’t move stool, meaning that it can become blocked. This can cause constipation and sometimes lead to a serious bowel infection called enterocolitis.
Around 1 in 5000 babies are born with Hirschsprung disease. The condition is usually picked up soon after birth and treated with surgery as soon as possible however patients frequently suffer debilitating, lifelong symptoms, with multiple surgical procedures often required.
Alternative treatment options are therefore crucial. One option that has been explored by researchers involves using stem cell therapy to generate nerve cell precursors, which then produce the missing nerves in the intestine of those with Hirschsprung disease after transplantation. This in turn should improve the intestine’s functionality.
However, this procedure has not been carried out on human tissue from people with Hirschsprung disease until now.
The research, published in Gut and funded by the Medical Research Council, is a collaborative effort between researchers at UCL and the University of Sheffield which began in 2017.
Researchers at the University of Sheffield focused on the production and analysis of nerve precursors from stem cells. These were then shipped to the UCL team, who prepared the patient gut tissue, undertook the transplantation and maintenance of the tissue and then tested the function of the tissue segments.

The study involved taking tissue samples donated by GOSH patients with Hirschsprung disease as a part of their routine treatment which were then cultured in the lab. The samples were then transplanted with stem cell-derived nerve cell precursors which then developed into the crucial nerve cells within the gut tissue.
Importantly the transplanted gut samples showed increased ability to contract compared to control tissue suggesting improved functionality of the gut in those with the disease.
Principal Investigator, Dr Conor McCann (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health) said: “This study is a real breakthrough in our cell therapy work for Hirschsprung disease. It really shows the benefit of bringing the expertise of different groups together which will hopefully benefit children and adults living with Hirschsprung disease in the future.”
Dr Anestis Tsakiridis, Principal Investigator at University of Sheffield said: “This has been a fantastic collaboration, led by two talented early career scientists, Dr Ben Jevans and Fay Cooper. Our findings have laid the foundations for the future development of a cell therapy against Hirschsprung disease and we will continue our efforts to bring this to the clinic in the next few years.”
The results of this study demonstrate for the first time the potential of stem cell therapy to improve the functionality of the intestine in those with Hirschsprung disease which, in turn, could lead to improved symptoms and better outcomes for individuals with the disease.
Researchers will now be applying for further funding for clinical trials to develop this treatment.