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Developmental biology

Sharp peaks from shallow sources

The use of mathematical modelling to formulate and test theories is still quite rare in biology. It has now been applied to show how a robust, sharp peak of signalling molecules can be formed in developing fruitfly embryos.

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Figure 1: Model for generating a sharp gradient of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) in fruitfly embryos, according to Eldar et al.3.

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Meinhardt, H., Roth, S. Sharp peaks from shallow sources. Nature 419, 261–262 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/419261a

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