From egg to animal: retracing an embryo’s first steps

Studying the early development of humans and other mammals takes colossal dexterity and stamina. Unlike, say, sea-urchin embryos — which are transparent — mammalian embryos are hidden from view. Investigating their development is also tricky because of the delicate timing and sequence of events that produce highly complex organisms. As a result, the story of how scientists have ingeniously deciphered many of the basic mechanisms of development over the past century is often as gripping as what they’ve discovered. Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz has been a key player in that story. A pathbreaking figure in developmental biology and stem-cell science for several decades, her work has reset the clock for the determination of cell fate in the early mammalian embryo. Read More…