Newly discovered molecular switch helps decide cell type in early embryo development

sea-maid submitted, created time 3 months 1 week (www.eurekalert.org)

Researchers have discovered a central molecular switch in fruit fly embryos that opens new avenues for studying the causes of birth defects and cancer in humans. Writing about their study in the Aug. 12 Developmental Cell, scientists at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center determined the switch to be a main tuning mechanism for instructing cells whether to form sensory nerves or blood cells in different parts of the body.

Keywords: stem cells cell differentiation differentiation birth defects developmental biology embryos fruit fly embryos