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An Embryonic Miracle of Tissue Development (Akin to 3D Printing)

Thursday, September 20, 2018

Ever wondered how groups of cells managed to build your tissues and organs while you were just an embryo?

Using state-of-the-art techniques he developed, UC Santa Barbara researcher Otger Campàs and his group have cracked this longstanding mystery, revealing the astonishing inner workings of how embryos are physically constructed. (Hint: the process has similarities to 3D printing and glass molding.) Not only does it bring a century-old hypothesis into the modern age, but the study and the techniques used in it also provide the researchers a foundation to study other key questions related to human health, such as how cancers form and spread or how to engineer organs.

Read the article.

Artist's representation of embryonic tissue being formed. Illustration for Nature cover by Brian Long.

Artist's representation of embryonic tissue being formed. Illustration for Nature cover by Brian Long.