Developmental Biology Lab
Developmental Biology: From Zygote to Organism
This developmental biology simulation follows a zygote through cleavage, gastrulation, neurulation, and organogenesis, illustrating how a single cell gives rise to the full complexity of a multicellular organism. Students see how differential gene expression, cell signaling, and positional information guide each cell's fate, forming the three primary germ layers — ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm — and the organs that arise from them. It makes abstract concepts like induction and pattern formation tangible for students in developmental biology and embryology courses.
What you can do in this simulation
- Follow cell cleavage stages and the formation of the blastula and blastocyst
- Watch gastrulation establish the three germ layers and the embryonic body axes
- Observe neurulation as the neural plate folds to form the neural tube
- Explore how Hox gene expression patterns determine body segment identity
- Trace which adult organ systems derive from each primary germ layer
Concepts covered
embryonic development · germ layers · gastrulation · Hox genes · organogenesis · cell differentiation
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