A Schooner of Science

Claymation Biology!

// October 16th, 2009 // How Things Work, Science Communication, Sex and Reproduction

Science and animation belong together (wink). Animation is awesome sauce on science noms – “it makes science fun!” And how good is claymation? LOVE IT! It takes so long though, I don’t know how people have the patience.

Check out this video by Creature Cast, a clay-tastic introduction on what germ cells are and where they come from. Germ cells are the ones that become eggs and sperm, by the way.

CreatureCast Episode 2 from Casey Dunn on Vimeo.

The video raises interesting questions on developmental biology, and how cells which have the same genetic code end up being very different in function. It’s because of the way the genes are READ, because in your heart the cells turn off all the brain genes and the blood genes, while switching on all the heart genes. But how do your heart cells know they are going to be heart cells?

The video puts forward a possible explanation for how germ cells know they are going to become germ cells, I haven’t heard this explanation before, but it’s a good one. There are a few other ways cells are told what they are going to be when they grow up, but that is a topic for another day (and probably another video!)

Hat tip to The Loom. Cheers!