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Related Concept Videos

Development of Blood Vessels01:07

Development of Blood Vessels

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The development of the vascular system in a fetus is a complex and intricate process that begins as early as 15 to 16 days post-conception. This process starts outside the embryo, specifically in the mesoderm of the yolk sac, chorion, and connecting stalk. Approximately two days later, the formation of blood vessels occurs within the embryo itself.
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After a large-single-celled zygote is produced via fertilization, the process of cleavage occurs while zygotes travel through the uterine tube. Cleavage is a mitotic cell division that does not result in growth. With each round of successive cell division, daughter cells get increasingly smaller.
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Gastrulation establishes the three primary tissues of an embryo: the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. This developmental process relies on a series of intricate cellular movements, which in humans transforms a flat, “bilaminar disc” composed of two cell sheets into a three-tiered structure. In the resulting embryo, the endoderm serves as the bottom layer, and stacked directly above it is the intermediate mesoderm, and then the uppermost ectoderm. Respectively, these tissue strata...
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Embryonic stem (ES) cells were first discovered in mice in 1981 by Martin Evans. In 1998, James Thomson identified a method to isolate embryonic stem cells from humans. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are obtained from 3-5 day old embryos that remain unused after an in vitro fertilization procedure.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 4, 2025

The Power of Simplicity: Sea Urchin Embryos as in Vivo Developmental Models for Studying Complex Cell-to-cell Signaling Network Interactions
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Waves in Embryonic Development.

Stefano Di Talia1, Massimo Vergassola2,3

  • 1Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.

Annual Review of Biophysics
|February 4, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Signaling waves are crucial for embryonic development, ensuring rapid signal spread and body plan patterning. This review covers theoretical frameworks like reaction-diffusion and excitable dynamics, linking them to biological mechanisms.

Keywords:
bistable systemsbone regenerationcoupled oscillatorsembryonic developmentexcitable systemssomitogenesiswaves

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Theoretical Biology

Background:

  • Embryonic development requires precise spatial and temporal coordination of molecular events.
  • Signaling waves are increasingly recognized as a universal mechanism for rapid signal propagation and pattern formation in embryos.
  • Understanding the theoretical underpinnings of these waves is essential for deciphering developmental processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide a comprehensive overview of theoretical frameworks for signaling waves in embryonic development.
  • To connect mathematical models of wave dynamics to recent molecular discoveries.
  • To guide future experimental research bridging theory and quantitative biological observations.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent quantitative studies on signaling waves.
  • Overview of wave theory, including reaction-diffusion systems (static and time-dependent), excitable dynamics, and coupled oscillators.
  • Linking theoretical models to specific biological examples.

Main Results:

  • Signaling waves provide a robust mechanism for coordinating molecular events during embryogenesis.
  • Theoretical models offer predictive power for understanding wave propagation and pattern formation.
  • Connections are drawn between wave theory and mechanisms controlling mitotic waves, vertebrate body axis patterning, micropattern cultures, and bone regeneration.

Conclusions:

  • Theoretical frameworks are vital for understanding the role of signaling waves in development.
  • Further integration of theory and quantitative experiments is needed to advance developmental biology.
  • Signaling waves represent a fundamental principle in biological pattern formation across diverse systems.