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05 April 2015

Easier Egg Hunt

For developmental studies, a process called ‘windowing’ provides a sneak peak of a developing embryo. A one-centimetre square of eggshell, along with its underlying shell membranes, is cut open slightly to allow examinations of the embryo at different stages of development. Researchers have spent the last two years developing and working with a biomaterial called polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), using it to develop a shell that mimics the curvature and shape of a real eggshell. And it’s also soft and transparent, allowing an uninterrupted view of the developing embryo. This new self-sufficient system, dubbed ‘egg-on-a-chip’, will allow experiments to take place without a huge need for resources, and the transparency of the shell will allow fluorescent imaging in vivo, giving a much more detailed look at the processes involved in embryonic development.

Written by Katie Panteli

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.