First Complete Blueprint of Embryo of Vertebrate Created

At the European Molecular Biology Laboratory scientists have tracked and recorded all cells in an embryo of a zebrafish during its first 24 hours of development. The observation led to a first complete model of an embryo of a vertebrate. The data was reconstructed into a three-dimensional, digital representation of the embryo. The study, published in the current online issue of Science, grants many new insights into embryonic development. Movies of the digital embryo and the underlying database of millions of cell positions, divisions and tracks will be made publicly available to provide a novel resource for research and scientific training. To get from one cell to a complex organism, cells have to divide, travel around the body and arrange intricate shapes and specialised tissues. The best way to understand these dynamic... [read full story]