An early structure of a developing mouse embryo called a blastocyst, imaged by confocal 3-D microscopy. The colored areas represent cell layers called the epiblast (pink) and the primitive endoderm (blue). (Courtesy of the Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis lab.
Developmental biology studies the processes by which the single cell of a fertilized egg grows and develops into a mature animal. Our researchers use an array of experimental tools to understand the genetic signals that direct cells to differentiate into specialized tissues and organs, how this process affects regeneration and aging, and how disruption of normal development gives rise to cancer.
Our scientists study the molecular principles used to control the identity and function of cells, and the generation of tissues from populations of cells.
Stunning movies captured in the lab of computational biologist Zhirong Bao reveal how cells divide, grow, and move around, as in a carefully choreographed dance, during the development of a nematode worm embryo.
Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers have developed a powerful new way to study human disease using stem cells whose genomes can be manipulated at will.
A new tool called optogenetics is revealing clues about the function of a promising experimental therapy derived from stem cells.
Jennifer Zallen, head of the Morphogenesis and Polarity Laboratory, is researching how cells communicate and move in relationship to each other.
MSK researchers shed light on the signals that determine the fate of embryonic cells.
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