All animals (including humans) and plants, as well as many algae and fungi, have bodies made of numerous cells, spatially organised into various tissues and organs. Bodies do not pop up fully formed (much of biology would have been quite boring otherwise), but gradually increase in complexity instead. In other words, bodies undergo development. This includes embryogenesis (the formation of embryos), metamorphosis (transformation of larvae into adults), regeneration (restoring damaged or lost tissues and organs), and even aging.

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Embryogenesis, or the development of a multicellular organism containing tens of trillions of cells (as in humans) all originating from a single fertilised egg, is the most fascinating phenomenon in the known universe. It is also a most beautiful one! Why? For to build an embryo, cells must divide and differentiate into hundreds of different types (as in vertebrates), migrate from site to site and even undergo programmed suicides! These activities are driven by sophisticated molecular processes, themselves under the control of elaborate networks of gene interactions. This immense complexity is what makes organism development so magnificent and beautiful.

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Studying how embryos form is not a purely intellectual enterprise "with no use in real life". In fact, it is essential for the advancement of new therapies. Disturbance in the developmental machinery during embryonic and fetal life is the primary cause of congenital abnormalities, ranging from mild pigmentation defects to full blown disfigurement and disability. Furthermore, many events in tumour growth and metastasis depend on the very same, albeit disregulated, embryonic mechanisms. Finally, the brave world of stem cell applications and in vitro organogenesis all rely on understanding of embryogenesis.

 

EMBRYOSAFARI aims at visualising the remarkable processes which build our bodies, and the products of these processes, i.e. the complex anatomy of embryos, larvae, juveniles and adults.

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