An adult human consists of more than 1013 specialised cells. These cells do not behave as individuals, but work together in functional tissues and organs. Yet all these cells originate from a single fertilised egg. What signals cause a fertilised egg to develop into different cell types, which know exactly when to divide and/or differentiate, and which then organise themselves into complex, three-dimensional tissues? Errors that occur during the first cell divisions of a fertilised egg lead to miscarriage or abnormalities in the offspring. Knowledge of normal development and the occurrence of errors may be able to prevent possible abnormalities. The Netherlands has traditionally been strong in research in developmental biology and has good chances in the next decade to contribute significantly to solving questions about normal and abnormal development of a new human or animal.
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Developmental biology focuses on understanding the biological processes that cause a fertilised egg to develop into a newborn. This discipline maps the underlying, guiding mechanisms responsible for the development of living organisms. Directly related to this more fundamentally oriented research is the study of congenital defects at the level of genotyping and at the level of environmental influences. The issues in developmental biology are very closely related to research in stem cell biology. Fundamental understanding of biological developmental processes can lead to cell therapy applications in the treatment of abnormalities and diseases. There is also an interface with research in regenerative medicine, the repair of tissues. Knowledge of the origins of errors that lead to abnormalities additionally has societal implications, for example around questions of screening for possible abnormalities.
