My short ode to development, inspired by the image above, (via biocanvas): Epithelial cells line surfaces and cavities throughout the body, forming skin, glands, and tracts. This mouse embryo has been genetically engineered to allow for the visualization of epithelial cells, showing the pattern of whisker placement on the face. Image by Evan Heller, Rockefeller University. The dance of biological development tops our best ballet or even our most magnificent marches. And it is truly a dance, as this video of a developing fruit fly embryo makes beautifully clear: Those cells, darting to and fro! They are pulled in and out of furrows, sensing the position and identity of their neighbors, migrating and multiplying at the whim of invisibly overlapping chemical gradients. It’s a journey in both space and time, the emergence of greater form from a horde of interconnected individuals. The whisker patterns of the mouse above are just one of the many awe-inspiring end results of developmental organization. While only a few of those nodes will sprout whiskers, the larger pattern drawn by development can be seen radiating outward toward the tail like rays from the sun. These relics of organization often remain invisible in adult animals, although sometimes they do show through (like when humans have “stripes”). Jason Silva has said that “to understand is to perceive patterns.” I offer this as an accompanying idea: To exist at all is to emerge from the sum of patterns.
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My short ode to development, inspired by the image above, (via biocanvas):

Epithelial cells line surfaces and cavities throughout the body, forming skin, glands, and tracts. This mouse embryo has been genetically engineered to allow for the visualization of epithelial cells, showing the pattern of whisker placement on the face.

Image by Evan Heller, Rockefeller University.

The dance of biological development tops our best ballet or even our most magnificent marches. And it is truly a dance, as this video of a developing fruit fly embryo makes beautifully clear:

Those cells, darting to and fro! They are pulled in and out of furrows, sensing the position and identity of their neighbors, migrating and multiplying at the whim of invisibly overlapping chemical gradients. It’s a journey in both space and time, the emergence of greater form from a horde of interconnected individuals.

The whisker patterns of the mouse above are just one of the many awe-inspiring end results of developmental organization. While only a few of those nodes will sprout whiskers, the larger pattern drawn by development can be seen radiating outward toward the tail like rays from the sun.

These relics of organization often remain invisible in adult animals, although sometimes they do show through (like when humans have “stripes”). Jason Silva has said that “to understand is to perceive patterns.” I offer this as an accompanying idea: To exist at all is to emerge from the sum of patterns.

decaturjim: Drosophila Protein Interaction Map This is a protein interaction map of Drosophila (fruit fly) that visualises the interaction and lines of communication between all proteins enabling each to accomplish their function. Determining the nature of these relationships is fundamental to the understanding of protein modes of action and cellular behaviour. This map was developed as a starting point for studying dynamics of protein complexes in development and evolution. Beautiful work, demonstrating the complex relationships that underly biology when we view it through a wide-angle lens. Much of the past half century of biology has been about describing all of the individual parts that make up our cells. But that doesn’t tell you how a cell or a body works any more than touring an auto parts store can tell you about how a car works. As we enter the era of systems and networked biology, it is the relationships between components that become important. Combinations of computational and laboratory science will be required to uncover the secrets that remain.  To give you an idea how difficult this is, the network you’re looking at is comprised of relationships between just a few thousand fly proteins, and not even all the proteins that a fly makes. Our genome encodes around 20,000 proteins, and 95% of those are produced as more than one variant. Our protein network is probably ten times this complicated! Previously: Check out this beautiful cancer gene network animation. Tomorrow’s biology is really pretty stuff.
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decaturjim:

Drosophila Protein Interaction Map

This is a protein interaction map of Drosophila (fruit fly) that visualises the interaction and lines of communication between all proteins enabling each to accomplish their function. Determining the nature of these relationships is fundamental to the understanding of protein modes of action and cellular behaviour.

This map was developed as a starting point for studying dynamics of protein complexes in development and evolution.

Beautiful work, demonstrating the complex relationships that underly biology when we view it through a wide-angle lens. Much of the past half century of biology has been about describing all of the individual parts that make up our cells. But that doesn’t tell you how a cell or a body works any more than touring an auto parts store can tell you about how a car works.

As we enter the era of systems and networked biology, it is the relationships between components that become important. Combinations of computational and laboratory science will be required to uncover the secrets that remain. 

To give you an idea how difficult this is, the network you’re looking at is comprised of relationships between just a few thousand fly proteins, and not even all the proteins that a fly makes. Our genome encodes around 20,000 proteins, and 95% of those are produced as more than one variant. Our protein network is probably ten times this complicated!

Previously: Check out this beautiful cancer gene network animation. Tomorrow’s biology is really pretty stuff.