Finally, after 12 hours of preparation, the longest part of your developmental cycle can start!

Over the next 84 hours, your cells and tissues will change to mark the transition to your final adult stage.

The imaginal discs undergo a process called eversion to form the adult head, thorax and abdomen. You also develop your wings and legs, your eyes become pigmented and you start to get a hairy coat of bristles!

Reproduction

Anne McLaren

Dame Anne Laura Dorinthea McLaren (26 April 1927 – 7 July 2007) was a leading developmental biologist in Britain and was a prolific researcher at the Gurdon Institute.

Her interests in understanding how the uterine environment affects embryonic development led to a landmark study published in 1958 with co-author John Biggers, showing that embryos cultured in vitro (outside of an animal) could be transplanted into mice and carried to term.

This was the first study of its kind to demonstrate that embryos received by transplantation could give rise to live young.

Anne’s research alongside her work advocating for better ethical, regulated reproductive research laid the foundation for in vitro fertilisation (IVF), now a commonplace technique that has assisted countless people around the world in conceiving children of their own.

McLaren’s Legacy

Developing mouse testes with germ cells labelled in pink, Image: Dr. Geraldine Jowett.

McLaren's legacy lives on in Cambridge today, with many groups carrying on her legacy to understand how germ cells migrate into reproductive organs and what causes them to develop into male or female-specific cell types.

Combined with pioneering work to develop complex models of human development and embryo implantation, our understanding of pregnancy and early miscarriage continues to improve.

Much like how Dame McLaren’s research led to IVF, every day, this research gets closer to leading to a new generation of assistive reproductive technologies that could provide fertility options for an even greater number of families.

  • I tell the time

    for some hours a day

    Use me in the sunshine

    but not if its grey.

  • In the courtyard is a concrete structure used to tell the time. What is it called?

*Remember to start your answer with a Capital letter.

“When the embryo is outside the woman's body, genetics tells us that father and mother have equal rights. When the embryo is inside the body, physiology tells us that the woman's right is paramount.”

— Anne McLaren