The mystery of early embryonic communication is starting to be unraveled thanks to a new stem cell-based model.

Scientists have recapitulated in the laboratory how the cellular structures that give rise to our spinal column form sequentially. They have created a 3D in vitro model that mimics how the precursor ...

These primitive jawless fish could hold clues to the evolutionary origin of vertebrate heads, as evidenced by detailed embryological analyses. The origin of the vertebrate skull is a topic of much ...

Vertebrates have a pretty diverse array of body plans, and one of the reasons for this is some evolutionary flexibility in the length of their primary body axis, the one that runs from head to tail.

The spinal column is the central supporting structure of the skeleton in all vertebrates. Not only does it provide a place for muscles to attach, it also protects the spinal cord and nerve roots.

Researchers used iPS cells to reconstructed the human 'segmentation clock,' a key point in early embryonic development that determines how the body gets segmented. The 'segmentation clock' is a ...

The somites are the first morphologically distinct segmental units formed in the vertebrate embryo and give rise to metameric structures such as vertebrae, ribs and skeletal muscles. The somites are ...

The spinal column is the central supporting structure of the skeleton in all vertebrates. Not only does it provide a place for muscles to attach, it also protects the spinal cord and nerve roots.