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Feathered Friends
11 May 2018

Feathered Friends

Like many natural patterns, feathers look elegant and simple, but zoom in on the molecules inside and a crowd of proteins is working to shape each individual branch. The healthy pattern of these chicken feathers (shown top middle and sketched below) is shaped by small GTPases – proteins that control how and when branches develop at different points on the feather’s rachis (central shaft). Removing two of these proteins, RhoA (left) or Cdc42 (right) alters the pattern. Some of the steps involved in tissue patterning, or morphogenesis, are common to other organs and even different species. Feather branching is used as a model for testing chemotherapies – watching how the delicate patterns cope with these powerful chemicals as a step towards helping human tissues recover after necessary, yet damaging cancer treatments.

Written by John Ankers

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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.

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