Access

News and Views

Nature Cell Biology 8, 1325 (1 December 2006) | doi:10.1038/ncb1206-1325

Shaped to split

Sin|[eacute]|ad Hayes

During development, many organs with branched tubule-based structures, including the mammary glands, initially grow in straight lines and subsequently undergo reiterative splitting of the growth activity of the ducts in two directions — a process known as branching morphogenesis. Branching morphogenesis requires tight temporal and spatial integration of a multitude of signals, but analysis of individual factors involved in this process has been difficult.