Life begins with a single fertilized cell that gradually transforms into a multicellular organism. This process requires ...

Cell division is an essential process for all life on earth, yet the exact mechanisms by which cells divide during early ...

From the moment an embryo starts to take shape, two-way communication is critical for making sure tissues and organs develop correctly. Two of the first physical structures to form in the embryo are ...

Scientists are exploring ways to mimic the origins of human life without two fundamental components: sperm and egg. They are coaxing clusters of stem cells – programmable cells that can transform into ...

Descriptions of the embryo go back at least to the time of Aristotle, but it has only been since the late 19 th century and early 20 th century that advances in experimental approaches allowed ...

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 ...

University of Cambridge scientists have used human stem cells to create three-dimensional embryo-like structures that replicate certain aspects of very early human development - including the ...

A new finding clarifies how certain proteins work together to direct cells to either specialize or remain pluripotent. This image, generated in the lab of developmental biologist Anna-Katerina (Kat) ...

Image of mouse embryos at the 2-cell stage visualised by light microscopy. Two blastomeres (cells) can be seen inside the zona pellucida (a “shell-like” protective outer layer) of each embryo. Credit: ...