Atlas of Fate

We all start as one single cell, and yet become a molecular masterpiece of trillions. But how? Throughout development, each cell makes a series of decisions that ultimately determines its identity. This complex process involves different signals from the cell’s environment, changes to genes that are switched on and more to give rise to all our major organs and body parts. Studying which cells make what decisions has been challenging. The only way is to dissect the embryo, but by doing that, any information about a cell’s location is lost – until now. Scientists have developed a map of the individual cells that make up an early embryo. This video shows how clusters of cell types (shown in various colours) map to specific locations. This groundbreaking tool will allow researchers to pinpoint the molecular events that lead to organ development, which could help generate cell types in a dish for regenerative medicine.

Written by Sophie Arthur

Sophie Arthur

former Science Communications Officer MRC LMS

Formerly a stem cell biologist, Sophie has since moved into science communication working at the MRC LMS. She also writes an award winning science and education blog Soph talks science.

Website

• Video from work by T. Lohoff and S. Ghazanfar, and colleagues
• Wellcome-Medical Research Council Cambridge Stem Cell Institute; CRUK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge; Epigenetics Programme, Babraham Institute, Cambridge, UK
• Video copyright held by the original authors
• Research published in Nature Biotechnology, September 2021