Life as a Single Cell: Creating a New Animal. Making bodies from cells
The rise of sexual reproduction
The beginnings of a life: egg and sperm
The odd case of jumping genes
Cleavage and the cell cycle
The machines of cell division
The Rise of Structure: Early Growth and Differentiation. Cleavage and implantation of the embryo
Gastrulation: layers and migrations
Organizers: the experiments of Spemann and Mangold
Molecular signals in gastrulation
From the organizer to the notochord
The Origins of the Major Organs. From the notochord to the nervous system
Secondary neurulation and the early brain
The development of unique features of the human brain
Hox genes: a universal scaffold for the head-to-tail axis
From left to right: symmetries and asymmetries
Developmental molecules and heart disease
Blood vessels in cancer and other diseases
Liver, pancreas, and gallbladder
Cell death: a sculptor of development
Cell Differentiation and Disease. Stem cells and potential therapies
Evolution and Development. Ernst Haeckel and recapitulation theory
Hox genes and genome evolution
Gene homologies and the origins of organs
The flip side of evolution
Xenotransplantation and the creation of artificial species
Summary and some final thoughts.
