I’ll be speaking about the mechanical development of crocodile and tortoise head scales next Wednesday at 4pm for the @tlmcambridge.bsky.social seminar series. Subscribe to the mailing list to hear more about my work, and that of @maltemederacke.bsky.social!

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Shark embryos of four different developmental stages, growing outside of their eggcases 🦈 🧪

Here's a tortoise embryo developing inside its egg. Check out our new article in @cp-iscience.bsky.social to learn how molecular and mechanical systems sculpt their intricate head scales 🐢🧪
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...

This is the skull of a tortoise embryo imaged with light sheet microscopy. Check out our new article in @cp-iscience.bsky.social to learn how both chemical signalling and mechanical forces sculpt their intricate head scales 🐢🔬🧪
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...

This is the head of a chicken embryo after 16 days of development, imaged with light sheet microscopy 🐣🔬🧪

Check out these feather buds on the chicken embryo's wing! Our latest study @plosbiology.org reveals that temporary inhibition of sonic hedgehog signalling transforms feathers into simple, protofeather-like structures—similar to those of their dinosaur ancestors🔬🦖🧪

journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Check out this baby crocodile emerging from its egg 🥚 🐊 And read our recent article in @nature.com to learn how compressive forces sculpt their intricate head scales 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

@lanevol.bsky.social @genevunige.bsky.social

After leaving Geneva, I've already found Sheffield's answer to the Jet d'Eau ⛲ 😍

Here are the different tissue layers of the crocodile embryo's jaws, segmented from light sheet microscopy data. The growth and material properties of these tissues mediate the mechanical patterning of crocodile head scales 🐊 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

This video shows the mechanical patterning of crocodile head scales 🐊. Read our new @natureportfolio.bsky.social article to learn more ⬇️ 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Here's a model of the crocodile embryo's jaws, showing bone (light brown), dermis (pink), epidermis (red), collagen fibres (purple) and multisensory organs (orange). These features are essential for the mechanical patterning of their head scales 🐊
Learn more here ⬇️🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

This is the upper jaw of a crocodile embryo, with nuclear staining in orange & proliferating cells in blue. This data helped us to build a mechanical simulation of crocodile head scale patterning. Learn more here ⬇️ 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Check out the mesmerizing moment - a crocodile embryo hatching from its egg! 🥚🐊

Our new research in @natureportfolio.bsky.social reveals how compressive forces, rather than gene interactions, sculpt their intricate head scales - learn more here ⬇️
www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪