Carving Embryogenesis at Its Joints - Dynamic Morphoskeleton and Modular Development

Explore a 47-minute lecture from the Santa Fe Institute on the intricate process of embryogenesis. Delve into the self-organizing forces, flows, and cell fates that shape embryonic development, with a focus on robust information expansion and error correction. Discover the concept of the "Dynamic Morphoskeleton" (DM) and its role in quantifying and compressing morphogenetic flows in early embryos. Learn how the DM guides new experiments and mechanistic continuum models, revealing the origins of attractors and repellers in avian gastrulation. Examine the modularity of embryogenesis and its implications for morphological evolution and synthetic morphogenesis. Gain insights into controlling gastrulation flows and inducing patterns typical of other vertebrates in avian embryos. Understand the potential impact of this research on the emerging field of synthetic morphogenesis and its broader implications for developmental biology.