Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 23, 2026

10:46
Novel Metrics to Characterize Embryonic Elongation of the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: March 28, 2016
Developmental mechanics: How elongating snake embryos coil to fit their space
1Department of Biological Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada; Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, Bamfield, BC, Canada.
Current Biology : CB
|September 21, 2026
Abstract:
Spiral coiling allows elongate early snake embryos to develop within a tightly confined space. A recent survey has revealed that initial coiling is overwhelmingly dextral and arises via a quite unexpected mechanism: the linear, slower-growing, extracorporeal gut forms an elastic tether that constrains the rapidly elongating somite array into a helicospiral.

