Exposure to alcohol during the first weeks of embryonic development changes gene activity and cellular metabolism. In laboratory cultures, it was found that the first cells of the nervous system are ...

The role of Fibroblast Growth Factor 8 (FGF8) in embryonic development and organ formation is gaining increased recognition as scientists uncover its wide-ranging influence. FGF8, a powerful signaling ...

Chimpanzee naive pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) can now be grown in cellular cultures, reveals a recent study. They successfully created chimpanzee early embryo models, called 'blastoids,' and found ...

Researchers have developed a new stem cell model of the mature human amniotic sac, which replicates development of the tissues supporting the embryo from two to four weeks after fertilization. This is ...

Fukuoka, Japan—The duplication and division of cells is critical to keeping all multicellular organisms alive. But the opposite process is equally important: cell death. Controlled death of cells, or ...

Transposable elements are stretches of DNA that can move around the genome. Many of these DNA sequences originate from long ago, when viruses inserted their genetic material into our ancestors' ...

The earliest days after fertilization, once a sperm cell meets an egg, are shrouded in scientific mystery. The process of how a humble single cell becomes an organism fascinates scientists across ...