Tag Archives: morphogenesis

Turing instability: life’s unique defiance of the second law of thermodynamics

Our psychological ‘arrow of time’ is conditioned by the Second Law of Thermodynamics, i.e. by the law of increase in entropy. A drop of blue ink will spread in water, as would white milk in black coffee.

The evolutionarily conserved role of Sp1 in appendage morphogenesis

Despite millions of years of independent evolution, some aspects of vertebrate and arthropod development share striking similarities. For example the appendages of a mouse and of a fly, at the naked eye doesn’t seem to share too

Cellular migration required for testis development

Gonad development requires the integration of multiple cell types of various origins. Testis development in particular depends on the crucial step of vascular endothelial cell migration from the mesonephros (the embryonic kidney) into the neighboring gonad tissue.

How hard can a cell push?

Growth is a fundamental phenomenon in biological systems. It happens daily around us, such as growth of grasses and babies. Microscopically, the growth occurs at the single cell level. The volume of cells is approximately doubled from

A tug-of-war helps shape membranes inside human cells

Imagine if you had to construct an intricate factory consisting of layered platforms interconnected with long tubes, using Lego pieces. The task would become more complex if this assembly would have to be periodically dismantled and rapidly

HCV controls the export machinery of infected cells to increase its own spread

When a virus infects a cell it changes a lot of the cells functions and behavior to its own benefit. The virus reproduces inside the cell and forces it to release many new virus particles which can