According to a report published online today by the journal Nature, mutations in genes that guide
embryonic development allowed insects to develop a radically different body plan from that of their crustacean - like ancestors some 400 million years ago.
Not exact matches
«Even if we can make other cells to look like
embryonic stem cells, ES cells
allow you to investigate unique aspects of human
embryonic development.»
Mouse
embryonic stem cells, reported in 1981 by Martin Evans, Matthew Kaufman, and Gail Martin, have
allowed scientists to generate genetically customized strains of mice that have revolutionized studies of organismic
development and immunity and have provided countless models of human disease.
«The new experimental techniques we used, combined with collaborative efforts of biologists and computer scientists, are
allowing us to gain new insight into the exquisite accuracy of
embryonic development.»
These experimental systems
allow scientists to dissect key molecular pathways that specify cell fate decisions in
embryonic development,» said team leader Lin He, a UC Berkeley associate professor of molecular and cell biology.
Veronica Palma, from University of Chile, led the study with Rehen and highlights the combined approaches
allowed the creation of an environment that mimics the one during
embryonic brain
development.
Determining how an
embryonic stem cell differentiates into mature cells might eventually
allow development of methods to reprogram an adult cell.