Like all parcels of matter, embryos are subject to physical forces and effects relevant to their
composition and scale (Forgacs & Newman, 2005). They thus bear the morphological …

In the 1950s, embryology was conceptualized as four relatively independent problems: cell
differentiation, growth, pattern formation and morphogenesis. The mechanisms underlying …

Developmental biologists study changes in shape and form of embryonic tissues, the
differentiation of their constituent cell types, the patterned arrangement of the resulting cells …

The role of 'generic'physical mechanisms in morphogenesis and pattern formation of tissues
is considered. Generic mechanisms are defined as those physical processes that are …

Early embryos of metazoan species are subject to the same set of physical forces and
interactions as any small parcels of semi-solid material, living or nonliving. It is proposed that …

We start from reviewing different epistemological constructions used for explaining
morphogenesis. Among them, we explore the explanatory power of a law-centered …

Organismal development occurs when expression of certain genes leads to the mobilization
of physical forces and effects that shape and pattern multicellular clusters. All materials …

There is increasing evidence that cellular differentiation is induced by mechanical stresses,
either shear (dislocation of haemangioblasts into erythrocytes and endothelial cells, arterial …

Animal bodies and the embryos that generate them exhibit an assortment of stereotypic
morphological motifs that first appeared more than half a billion years ago. During …

We argue that the physics of complex materials and self-organizing processes should be
made central to the biology of form. Rather than being encoded in genes, form emerges …