Morphogen
Morphogens are special chemicals that help shape and organize developing embryos. Think of them as the "architects" and "construction workers" of the growing body. They travel throughout the embryo and provide instructions to cells on what to become and where to go.
To understand how they work, imagine building a sandcastle on the beach. If you put mounds of sand in certain places, the sandcastle will take on a particular shape. Similarly, morphogens are like mounds of special chemicals that tell nearby cells to create specific body parts in particular locations.
For example, there is a morphogen called Sonic Hedgehog (yes, that's its real name!) that helps determine where fingers will form on our hands. Without the instructions from this morphogen, we might have too many or too few fingers, or they could be in the wrong places on our hands.
Another example is the morphogen retinoic acid, which helps shape the spinal cord and nervous system. It tells developing cells which end of the body is the head, and which end is the tail, and helps distinguish between the different types of nerves that will be formed.
Overall, morphogens are an essential part of embryonic development and help ensure that we grow up with the correct body parts in the right places.
To understand how they work, imagine building a sandcastle on the beach. If you put mounds of sand in certain places, the sandcastle will take on a particular shape. Similarly, morphogens are like mounds of special chemicals that tell nearby cells to create specific body parts in particular locations.
For example, there is a morphogen called Sonic Hedgehog (yes, that's its real name!) that helps determine where fingers will form on our hands. Without the instructions from this morphogen, we might have too many or too few fingers, or they could be in the wrong places on our hands.
Another example is the morphogen retinoic acid, which helps shape the spinal cord and nervous system. It tells developing cells which end of the body is the head, and which end is the tail, and helps distinguish between the different types of nerves that will be formed.
Overall, morphogens are an essential part of embryonic development and help ensure that we grow up with the correct body parts in the right places.