Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics and the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences have discovered a potential "pause button" in the earliest stages of human development. Whether humans can control the timing of their development has long been debated. The new study suggests that this “pause button” can be activated in human cells as well. The findings have significant implications for our understanding of early human life and may improve reproductive technologies.