Escaneando el Código de la Vida

How can light be useful for the study and design of tissues and organs? Using sophisticated microscope set-ups, we can faithfully produce 3D images of these structures, as well as monitor their development over time. Light can also be used as a tool to control and manipulate these structures and processes via "biological light switches". Mainly known for their use in neurobiology, biological light switches give us the ability to control different processes along space and time. Armed with these light-based imaging and control methods, we can study biological phenomena that shape life on Earth.

A bunch of initially equivalent, single cells can self-organise in 3D, even in the absence of any external agent. They generate spatial asymmetries (a front and a back, patterns...) in their genetic program and cell behaviour, a concept that resonates throughout development. These multicellular systems can communicating to make positional and cell type-dependent decisions. We will focus in two case studies from different developmental periods (early embryonic and limb development) and address several questions these models bring up, like how mechanical forces influence their morphogenesis.