Science is Fun Fridays!

 

The Human Cell Atlas aims to map every cell type in the human body.  A team of researchers have been studying limb development, and they were recently able to trace gene expression.

By staining the tissues, they could see how different populations of cells behave during the formative process. 

Their findings pinpoint particular genes involved, including some that, when disrupted, are associated with limb syndromes.

They also unexpectedly demonstrated that our fingers and toes don't grow outwards, but instead collapse in on themselves from a larger foundational bud.

IFL Science