Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Axes of Development

New technique that allows the study of embryo development – without the need for embryos

20 October 2018

Axes of Development

Researchers have pioneered a technique to investigate how embryos develop, but which doesn't use embryo tissue. This could side-step the ethical issues involved in embryo research. Aimed not to produce a living animal, but rather to find out more about the first steps in development. The technique uses stem cells, which can become many different types of cell. When the team stimulated mouse stem cells in a dish, the cells organised themselves into artificial embryo-like structures, called gastruloids (pictured). Next, the gastruloid developed along three axes that are known to be an important blue-print for the location of limbs. These axes run front to back, top to bottom and left to right. Here, cells that are spreading out to form the length of the body are labelled green, while cells which will ultimately become the tail bud are in pink. Further developing cells are labelled blue.

Written by Deborah Oakley

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.