The image above shows the skeleton of a normal chick (top left) and a chicken with a severe mutation (top right).
The mutation is in a gene called TALPID3 which is important for development. Chickens which have lost the function of TALPID3 have brain deformities, small lungs, liver fibrosis and extra fingers.
Scientists at the Roslin Institute have now found that humans with a rare genetic disorder that affects brain development, called Joubert syndrome, also have mutations in TALPID3.
By investigating the impact of the gene at the cellular level in chickens, the researchers have provided further insight into the specifics of Joubert syndrome in people.
In this video you can watch 24 hours (the second day) in the development of a tiny zebrafish embryo.
Some cells have been labelled with a fluorescent protein naturally found in jellyfish. This fluorescent label marks several developing organ systems including the eye, hatching gland and kidney.
You can also see two groups of cells migrating along the trunk of the embryo, depositing smaller clumps of sensory cells as they go. These cells are the precursors of the lateral line system, which gives fish a sense of ‘touch at a distance’, enabling them to shoal, avoid obstacles and find prey.
Look more closely to see individual cells moving around over the skin.
Light sheet microscopy illuminates the specimen with a thin sheet of light and allows scientists like Dr Tanya Whitfield and her team at the University of Sheffield to observe cells and embryos at high speeds or for long times. This research is helping them to gain a better understanding of the amazing process of embryogenesis, including the development of sensory systems such as the lateral line and inner ear.
These striking images show a zebrafish embryo brain at just two-days-old as seen with a Light Sheet Fluorescent Microscope.
Light sheet microscopy illuminates the specimen with a thin sheet of light and can be used to see relatively large structures in fine detail. You can see all the nerve cells and connections in the zebrafish brain stained with an antibody in red.
Being able to see embryos in this detail allows research teams at the University of Sheffield to follow the amazing process of embryogenesis, from a single cell (the fertilised egg) to a functioning animal with hundreds of different cell types.
Images: Sarah Baxendale, Stone Elworthy and Nick van Hateren.
Hopefully, while 4 weeks pregnant, you are in the know. It’s official, you have entered the world of pregnancy. Right now your baby is an embryo the size of a poppy seed. http://bit.ly/UjovS3
Possible alternate title “Such a Magical Fucking Journey”
Artist statement(/rant)
I can’t decide between the titles because this is both political and personal, much moreso of both than my work usually is. I am currently pregnant, very much by choice, midway through second trimester. I have been making these relief prints at each stage of pregnancy depicting the current stage of fetal development. A few days ago we ran into an acquaintance at the statehouse while we were protesting the probable overturning of Roe v Wade, and while catching up I mentioned just a couple of the pregnancy side effects I’d been struggling with. He was utterly shocked having never heard of most of what I described which made me think, if this well-meaning pro-choice man has no idea what pregnancy really entails, that’s probably even more true of the men making the laws. I expect a lot of the people suggesting adoption as a viable option for an unwanted pregnancy see pregnancy as a temporary inconvenience and have no idea how much it can disrupt one’s life.
For the record, for the most part I pulled this side effects list from the “what to expect when you’re expecting” website, and with a few exceptions most aren’t even considered complications, these are almost all things considered normal. Most aren’t even treated or treatable since even basic over the counter medications (including ibuprophen and Pepto bismal) are not considered safe during pregnancy. There are tons more potential effects many of which can be life threatening that I didn’t list.
I hope anyone who would consider forcing someone to go through with an unwanted pregnancy learns exactly what that means.
And on a more personal note, I’ve been frustrated with the way the narrative of pregnancy is framed. When people talk about unwanted pregnancy they talk about horrifying body changes, health issues, and so on, but when people talk about wanted pregnancies the narrative is always how beautiful and magical it all is. I’m pregnant on purpose, this will be an extremely planned and wanted baby, but as an experience, this still sucks. Being in the midst of a combination of ever-changing body horror and illness has made it especially frustrating to hear people constantly telling me how wonderful it all is, I feel like I’m getting gaslit by society at large.
So I haven’t updated as much this year as previously, and this is why: pregnancy is exhausting. But I have been working on this piece, making relief prints of embryos/fetuses in real time as mine develops, as close to actual size as I can. I will probably add one more to this series some time in the third trimester (I’m in the second now) but the early development is more aesthetically interesting to me as more changes happen faster early on.
Red eyed tree frog eggs are laid under leaves situated above ponds. #amphibians #agalychniscallidryas #CostaRica #herpsofinstagram #herps #treefrog #embryo #eggs #amphibiansofig #forest #foresthealth
So I haven’t posted much to tumblr lately because I’ve been super busy doing my MSc research project on these little fellas - Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) tree somatic embryos. I’m trying to see how they respond to being frozen in liquid nitrogen. When I was told I’d be working with liquid nitrogen I couldn’t help but be a tad excited!
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