In the course of early embryonic development, pluripotent stem cells first give rise to three lineages or ‘germ layers’, which then generate all cell types, tissues and organs of the human body, e.g.

A new discovery by researchers challenges our current understanding of gastrulation, the most important stage of early embryonic development. When the zygote, or the fertilised egg, starts to develop, ...

Scientists revise the current textbook knowledge about gastrulation, the formation of the basic body plan during embryonic development. Their study in mice has implications for cell replacement ...

As a human embryo grows, a set of molecules directs cells as they multiply and take on specific identities and spatial positions within the embryo. In one crucial step known as gastrulation, these ...

Gene networks in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have been found to serve two purposes at once. They maintain pluripotency, and they keep apoptosis, or programmed cell death, on a hair trigger.

At the earliest stages of human embryonic development, a small collection of cells known as human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) orchestrates growth and differentiation, eventually giving rise to highly ...

When the zygote, or the fertilised egg, starts to develop, the soon forming inner cell mass, a cluster of cells that will eventually develop into the individual, retains its pluripotent stem cell ...