A Serendipitous Discovery

Sterols are ringed lipids that play an important role in maintaining the integrity of cell membranes in eukaryotes like us. For example, studies show that errors in the biosynthesis of cholesterol, one of the most widely known examples of sterols, cause serious defects in human embryonic development that almost invariably result in foetal death. This raises the question—do sterols play a role in cellular differentiation and morphogenesis in eukaryotes