A dorsal section through a zebrafish embryo.
Credit: IST Austria
Genetics and biochemistry play major roles in embryo development, but now researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology in Austria have identified a third, much less subtle, player in the process: friction.
The scientists, led by Carl-Philipp Heisenberg, studied mechanics at work in the development of zebra fish embryos. The team discovered that the force arising from friction between moving tissues plays a key role in the formation of the nervous system.
The study is published in Nature Cell Biology.
