---
title: "Two-Cell Mouse Embryos Communicate to Determine Future Cell Formation"
description: "Bio-engineers have discovered that mouse embryos are contemplating their cellular fates in the earliest stages after fertilization when the embryo has only two to four cells."
date: "2014-11-26"
modified: "2015-08-13"
authors:
  - name: "Andreea Popescu"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/andreeathecat"
url: "https://futurism.com/two-cell-mouse-embryos-communicate-determine-future-cell-formation"
categories:
  - "Biology"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "biology"
  - "mouse"
  - "two-cell embryo"
---

# Two-Cell Mouse Embryos Communicate to Determine Future Cell Formation

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- The researchers discovered that a handful of genes are clearly signaling to each other at the two-cell and four-cell stage
- Among the identified genes are several genes belonging to the WNT signaling pathway
- The first major task for an embryo is to decide which cells will begin forming the fetus , and which will form the placenta.