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Totipotency

Describes a cell capable of developing into any type of cell or tissue, including extraembryonic tissues, such as the placenta. The zygote, formed immediately after fertilisation, is totipotent and has the potential to create an embryo.

3 articles

Image by Christoph Bock/Max Planck Institute for Informatics via Wikimedia Commons. Depicts a DNA molecule that is methylated on both strands on the centre cytosine.

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27 January 2025 • 3 minutes read

Ancient viral DNA plays crucial role in early embryo development

by Dr Elena Corujo-Simón

Remnants of ancient viral DNA, known as transposable elements, are involved in regulating the start of gene expression during mammalian embryonic development, a study suggests...

Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.

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16 September 2024 • 2 minutes read

Early mouse embryos are prone to DNA replication errors

by Dr Elena Corujo-Simón

During the first cell divisions of mouse embryos a period of instability has been uncovered, which translates into chromosomal errors...

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20 May 2024 • 3 minutes read

Embryo demonstrates a bias at the two-cell stage

by Dr Elena Corujo-Simón

When human embryos consist of only two cells, the cells are already biased towards contributing to either the placenta or the embryo, scientists suggest...

BioNews

Totipotency

Ancient viral DNA plays crucial role in early embryo development

Early mouse embryos are prone to DNA replication errors

Embryo demonstrates a bias at the two-cell stage

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