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...

The nucleus is a membrane-bound organelle that acts as a control center in a eukaryotic cell. It contains chromosomal DNA, which controls gene expression and precisely regulates the production of proteins within the cell. In contrast, the DNA inside the mitochondria and chloroplast only carries out functions that are specific to those organelles.
Arrangement of DNA within Nucleus
The regulation of gene expression inside the nucleus is dependent on many factors, including the DNA structure. The...

Neurulation is the embryological process which forms the precursors of the central nervous system and occurs after gastrulation has established the three primary cell layers of the embryo: ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. In humans, the majority of this system is formed via primary neurulation, in which the central portion of the ectoderm—originally appearing as a flat sheet of cells—folds upwards and inwards, sealing off to form a hollow neural tube. As development proceeds, the...

The eukaryotic nucleus is a double membrane-bound organelle that contains nearly all of the cell’s genetic material in the form of chromosomes. It is rightly called the “brain” of the cell as it shoulders the responsibility of responding to various physiological processes, stress, altered metabolic conditions, and other cellular signals. 
The nucleus contains many membrane-less subnuclear organelles or nuclear bodies, such as nucleoli, Cajal bodies, speckles,...

During embryogenesis, cells become progressively committed to different fates through a two-step process: specification followed by determination. Specification is demonstrated by removing a segment of an early embryo, “neutrally” culturing the tissue in vitro—for example, in a petri dish with simple medium—and then observing the derivatives. If the cultured region gives rise to cell types that it would normally generate in the embryo, this means that it is specified. In...

Cells with similar structure and function are grouped into tissues. A group of tissues with a specialized function is called an organ. There are four main types of tissue in vertebrates: epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous.