Researchers have developed a new human stem-cell-based embryo model that reveals previously unknown communication between early tissues that later form the spinal cord, spine and muscles.
The work, reported in Nature Cell Biology, provides a clearer picture of how the central part of the body begins to organise itself during early development.
Using human pluripotent stem cells, the team at the Francis Crick Institute in London created a simplified 3D model that forms a neural tube and somites – two of the first physical structures to form in the embryo.
Read more in BioTechniques.