RESHARED POST FROM OMAR LOISEL

Harvard research now shows that Nodal and Lefty — two proteins linked to the regulation of asymmetry in vertebrates and the development of precursor cells for internal organs — fit the model described by Turing six decades ago. In a paper published online in Science April 12, Alexander Schier, professor of molecular and cellular biology, and his collaborators Patrick Müller, Katherine Rogers, Ben Jordan, Joon Lee, Drew Robson, and Sharad Ramanathan demonstrate a key aspect of Turing’s model: that the activator protein Nodal moves through tissue far more slowly than its inhibitor Lefty.

“That’s one of the central predictions of the Turing model,” Schier said. “So I think we can now say that Nodal and Lefty are a clear example of this model in vivo.”

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Turing was right

Researchers at Harvard have shown that Nodal and Lefty — two proteins linked to the regulation of asymmetry in vertebrates and the development of precursor cells for internal organs — fit a mathematic…