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Design files for molds for microfluidic modules (used for fabrication of two-layer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) devices). LabVIEW scripts for operating microfluidic devices for automated cell culture under dynamically changing media compositions., JT was supported by a Grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (Marie-Heim Voegtlin Fellowship, PMPDP3_171383). This work was also supported by the European Research Council under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program Grant 723106 (to SJM), a Swiss National Science Foundation NRP (National Research Program) 78 Covid-19 Grant 198412 (to SJM).

An intricate link is becoming apparent between metabolism and cellular identities. Here, we explore the basis for such a link in an in vitro model for early mouse embryonic development: from naïve pluripotency to the specification of primordial germ cells (PGCs). Using single-cell RNA-seq with statistical modelling and modulation of energy metabolism, we demonstrate a functional role for oxidative mitochondrial metabolism in naïve pluripotency. We link mitochondrial tricarboxylic acid cycle activity to IDH2-mediated production of alpha-ketoglutarate and through it, the activity of key epigenetic regulators. Accordingly, this metabolite has a role in the maintenance of naïve pluripotency as well as in PGC differentiation, likely through preserving a particular histone methylation status underlying the transient state of developmental competence for the PGC fate. We reveal a link between energy metabolism and epigenetic control of cell state transitions during a developmental trajectory towards germ cell specification, and establish a paradigm for stabilizing fleeting cellular states through metabolic modulation.

This chapter provides a desk-based review of peer-reviewed and grey literature on gender and adaptation to climate change in the context of rural sub-Saharan Africa using a feminist political ecology approach. The aspects of rural livelihoods reviewed are health, water, and energy. The existing empirical evidence is limited. The literature tends to be deductive, based on past experiences with floods and drought. Adaptation strategies focus on building resilience to the impacts of extreme weather events linked to a changing climate. There are signs that women and men are taking their own steps to adapt based on their knowledge of their natural ecosystems and their past experiences with drought—some of which also lead to shifts in gender roles. The chapter makes the case for taking a gender approach in analysing vulnerability and resilience, since both are gendered states that can offer a more holistic insight into the diverse coping strategies of households and communities. The overall conclusion is that while communities in SSA have recognised the change in weather patterns and the impact it is having on their lives, it is not something new but ‘more of the same’. Their priorities for securing their livelihoods can be shaped by the ways in which people attach meaning to the environment and climatic events, such as droughts.

Summary Cell populations can be strikingly heterogeneous, composed of multiple cellular states, each exhibiting stochastic noise in its gene expression. A major challenge is to disentangle these two types of variability and to understand the dynamic processes and mechanisms that control them. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) provide an ideal model system to address this issue because they exhibit heterogeneous and dynamic expression of functionally important regulatory factors. We analyzed gene expression in individual ESCs using single-molecule RNA-FISH and quantitative time-lapse movies. These data discriminated stochastic switching between two coherent (correlated) gene expression states and burst-like transcriptional noise. We further showed that the “2i” signaling pathway inhibitors modulate both types of variation. Finally, we found that DNA methylation plays a key role in maintaining these metastable states. Together, these results show how ESC gene expression states and dynamics arise from a combination of intrinsic noise, coherent cellular states, and epigenetic regulation., Graphical Abstract, Highlights • smFISH in ESCs reveals two transcriptional states and highly stochastic expression • Live-cell expression dynamics reveal the in situ transition rates between states • DNA methylation regulates state-switching dynamics • “2i” signaling inhibitors impact both gene expression noise and state transitions, Using single-molecule RNA-FISH and quantitative time-lapse movies, Singer et al. discriminate two primary sources of gene expression heterogeneity in embryonic stem cells: random switching between correlated gene expression states and burst-like transcriptional noise. Perturbing specific signaling pathways modulates both processes, and DNA methylation is key to maintaining these states.

Der Kariba-Staudamm an der Grenze zwischen dem heutigen Sambia und Simbabwe war ein Beispiel spätkolonialer Modernisierungspolitik und zugleich Symbol eines vielbeachteten Staatsbildungsexperiments: Die 1953 ins Leben gerufene Zentralafrikanische Föderation wurde von ihren politischen Vätern als „dritter Weg“ zwischen weißen und schwarzen Unabhängigkeitsbewegungen deklariert. Aus heutiger Sicht versinnbildlicht das Mammutprojekt sowohl das Scheitern der hochumstrittenen Föderation als auch die Verfehlungen großer Entwicklungsvorhaben insgesamt: Kariba nutzte der „weißen“ Industrie, brachte der verarmten indigenen Landbevölkerung jedoch Schaden. Lokale Akteure versuchten, diese Ungleichheiten zu korrigieren, wie der vorliegende Aufsatz anhand von Hezekiah Habanyama, einem Mitglied der lokalen afrikanischen Verwaltungselite, und Harry Nkumbula, dem Präsidenten des nordrhodesischen African National Congress aufzeigt. Die Positionen, die der „loyale Verwaltungsbeamte“ einerseits und der „Widerstandskämpfer“ andererseits einnahmen, entziehen sich allerdings einer einfachen Zuordnung in Für- oder Gegenstimmen, Opposition oder Kollaboration. Ihre vielfach verflochtenen Strategien und Ideen im Hinblick auf „Entwicklung“ verdeutlichen vielmehr die grundsätzliche Ambivalenz des spätkolonialen Doppelprojekts von Staatsbildung und Modernisierung., Comparativ, Vol 21 No 1 (2011): Entangled Histories: Reflecting on Concepts of Coloniality and Postcoloniality