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| When does an embryo start growing larger? | |
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| Topic Started: Jan 17 2011, 04:47 PM (363 Views) | |
| Rhob | Jan 17 2011, 04:47 PM Post #1 |
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Adult
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So I'm going to try my hand at an evo-devo simulator. I know that, for some time after fertilization, an embryo doesn't grow larger. The daughter cells occupy the same volume that the original egg cell occupied. However, at some point it starts occupying more volume than that. What I'm curious about is whether there are any signals that tell the embryo to start growing, or if this is an emergent phenomenon due to its cells maintaining a minimum size while continuing to proliferate. Does anyone know the answer to this? Many thanks in advance.
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| Rhob | Jan 17 2011, 08:01 PM Post #2 |
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Adult
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Okay, apparently in humans (and presumably other mammals), embryo growth doesn't start until attachment to the uterine wall has occurred. That leaves the question open for non-mammalian embryos. |
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| agatharights | Jan 18 2011, 10:28 AM Post #3 |
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Prime Specimen
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I think it varies by species. All I know is human fertilization, what with having a baby of my own and all |
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