medicalschool:

Chromosomes

Time to get your ducks (chromosomes) in a line.

(Source: biology.unm.edu)

ohyeahdevelopmentalbiology:

Fetus attached to placenta, approximately 12 weeks after fertilization.

14-billion-years-later:

This picture shows three really cool parts of a cell, first off the nucleus in green, actin in purple and the microtubules in that lovely yellow. Microtubules and actin are key components of the cell’s cytoskeleton and help give the cell it’s shape and structural support.

 Molec was a favorite of mine.

ohyeahdevelopmentalbiology:

flygandejakob:

The face of a frog: Time-lapse video reveals never-before-seen bioelectric pattern

There’s so much cool stuff happening in developmental biology these days!

For the first time, Tufts University biologists have reported that bioelectrical signals are necessary for normal head and facial formation in an organism and have captured that process in a time-lapse video that reveals never-before-seen patterns of visible bioelectrical signals outlining where eyes, nose, mouth, and other features will appear in an embryonic tadpole…

“We believe this is the first time such patterning has been reported for an entire structure, not just for a single organ. I would never have predicted anything like it. It’s a jaw dropper”…

“Our research shows that the electrical state of a cell is fundamental to development. Bioelectrical signaling appears to regulate a sequence of events, not just one,” said Laura Vandenberg. “Developmental biologists are used to thinking of sequences in which a gene produces a protein product that in turn ultimately leads to development of an eye or a mouth. But our work suggests that something else — a bioelectrical signal — is required before that can happen…

“Studying bioelectrical signaling has led us to a different, and broader, way of thinking about diseases like cancer, birth defects and tissue regeneration,” Adams notes. “Potentially we can find electrical switches that turn on entire developmental cascades rather than having to find many specific tools that turn on many specific genes within that cascade, as is the current approach with gene therapy. After all, we already have tools for regulating some of these bioelectrical signals, such as drugs that prevent acid reflux by controlling potassium and hydrogen ions.”

Picture to go along with the Menstrual Cycle Game. Have fun and be careful.