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The development of model organisms such as zebrafish and worms progresses from a single cell to tissues and organs. In this issue, a collection of articles highlights advances and opportunities at the intersection of developmental and chemical biology.
The growing intersection between chemical tools and principles and developmental biology is providing new insights into the molecular-level details of developmental processes.
To fully leverage the potential of human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), improved and standardized reprogramming methods and large-scale collections of hiPSC lines are needed, and the stem cell community must embrace chemical biology methodology for target identification and validation.
Cell-to-cell signaling networks, although poorly understood, guide tissue development, regulate tissue function and may become dysregulated in disease. Chemical biologists can develop the next generation of tools to untangle these complex and dynamic networks of interacting cells.