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The crucial involvement of the morula stage in development
Cell fate determination
Morula architecture
Blastocoel formation
Why do blastomeres become flattened cells, driving compaction? ‐ The rule of the “Newton kissing number” ‐
If the cells were to remain spherical, and assuming that they remain in contact with each other, it would only be geometrically possible to position a single cell internally at the 13‐cell stage.
As additional cells are added past this point, the embryo could not retain its closely packed structure without the cells changing shape.
White et al, 2017
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