The first moments of life are a delicate yet busy time, when one cell becomes two, then four, and a flurry of genetic cues starts orchestrating their growth. Within this process, a gene called NANOG is essential for the early development of embryos. We already knew that was true of mice – but now, we can really say the same goes for humans. In those earlier mouse experiments, researchers found NANOG was key to the development of the very first cells that go on to form the embryo. It's also