embryonic development

Laser micro-scalpel yields biological insights into nature of tissue

Using a laser beam scalpel so fine it could inscribe words on the surface of a fly egg, researchers have snipped their way to a new understanding of a key process in a fruit fly’s embryonic development. The process, called dorsal closure, is the complex mechanism by which the embryonic skin of the fruit fly Drosophila knits itself together to protect its innards from the outside world. Understanding this seemingly arcane process is important because dorsal closure uses molecular and cellular mechanisms very similar to those involved in wound-healing as well as those that can go awry in humans to produce the spinal malformation spina bifida.

Embryonic facial development takes longer than thought

The sculpting of the face during embryonic development ? the physical molding that determines what we will look like ? may remain open to change much longer than had been thought, according to research by UCSF scientists. While this prolonged period means the developing face has increased vulnerability to environmental insults in utero, the plasticity also provides more opportunity for repair and restoration of facial defects in utero as new diagnostic and therapeutic techniques are developed to allow earlier intervention, the researchers say.