DEV BIO

• Developmental biology


  A scientific discipline that studies the processes and mechanisms that control and influence the development and growth of organisms
• Developmental biology


  "Journey of single cell into a completely well-organized organism"
• Importance of developmental biology


  • Understanding life's blueprint
  • Medical applications
  • Evolutionary insights
  • Environmental impacts
  • Biotechnological applications
  • Reproductive health
  • Education and outreach
• Cell lineage


  The developmental history of a cell, from its birth to its final division and differentiation into a specific cell type
• Cell lineage studies


  • Provide insights into how cells divide, differentiate, and migrate during development
  • Are crucial for understanding the development of tissues, organs, and entire organisms, as well as the progression of diseases such as cancer, where abnormal cell lineage can lead to uncontrolled cell growth
• Types of cell-cell interactions


  • Endocytosis (entering the cell)
  • Exocytosis (exiting the cell)
• Exocytosis


  Process used by the cell to take out its trash and to incorporate proteins into the cell membrane
• Endocytosis


  1. Brings molecules into the cell that are important for the cell's survival, such as glucose

  2. Includes phagocytosis, pinocytosis, and receptor-mediated endocytosis
• Types of cell junctions


  • Gap junctions
  • Tight junctions
  • Desmosomes
• Gap junctions


  Tubes that join two cells together, allowing for the transport of water and ions and the spread of electrochemical signals
• Tight junctions


  Connections that form when cells are squished up against one another, creating an impermeable layer between the cells
• Desmosomes


  Cell membranes connected by thread-like substances, physically holding the cells together but not allowing fluids or materials to pass from one cell to the next
• Embryonic induction


  A fundamental process in developmental biology that involves the interaction between different groups of cells during the early stages of embryonic development, leading to the differentiation of cells and tissues into specific structures
• Types of stem cells


  • Totipotent
  • Pluripotent
  • Multipotent
  • Oligopotent
  • Unipotent
• Self-renewal


  Stem cells' ability to divide and produce more stem cells, maintaining a stem cell pool for long-term use
• Differentiation


  Stem cells' ability to differentiate into specialized cells, such as nerve cells, muscle cells, or blood cells, depending on the signals they receive from their environment
• Stem cells are not a type of single, isolated cell (an entity), but rather involve generations of cells - a cell lineage</b>
• The abilities that define a stem cell, such as self-renewal and differentiation, are largely determined by interactions between cells and their environments
• Stem cell


  Functionally defined as having the capacity to self-renew and the ability to generate differentiated cells