Researchers at the University of Geneva demonstrated that chemotaxis, the movement of cells toward chemical signals, drives the formation of hair follicles. Their mathematical model recreates the developmental patterns of both laboratory mice and the spiny mouse without relying on the traditional expansion-induction theory. The results show that local interactions between dermal cells and epidermal signals are sufficient to generate these structures.
This suggests a single, simple mechanism underlies the diversity of hair, feathers, and scales across species, rather than unique blueprints for each animal. However, the study is primarily computational, so experimental validation in living embryos is still needed to confirm the model's biological reality.
more: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/11/261109205413.htm
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