This blob is called the inner cell mass. Among the cells of the inner cell mass, he found a new group of cells that hadn’t been seen before. They found that the non-committed cells, which don’t express HERVH, actually express transposons, a.k.a. Initially, at the beginning of development, all the cells of the inner cell mass express these potentially dangerous transposons, but very soon, most of the cells express HERVH. Based on their results, the authors also suggest that it could play a role in the fitness of the early embryo.

Source: The Hindu July 26, 2023 09:34 UTC