video: A view of the head end of a mouse embryo, showing the forming embryonic heart. The grey spherical blobs are the nuclei of individual cells. The green, red and magenta colors mark different regions that contribute to the forming heart. The embryonic heart is described as a 'Linear Heart Tube' at this stage and has already been rhythmically contracting for several hours. One can see the chambers of the heart starting to form and be shaped. This material relates to a paper that appeared in the 8 Jan. issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by R.C.V. Tyser at University of Oxford in Oxford, UK, and colleagues was titled, "Characterization of a common progenitor pool of the epicardium and myocardium." view more
Credit: [Credit: Richard Tyser and Shankar Srinivas, University of Oxford]