The miraculous development process is triggered by the union of a sperm

and an egg during fertilization resulting to the formation of a single cell in the form
of a fertilized egg which divides by mitosis into trillions of genetically identical cells.
Such cells, then, differentiate during embryonic development to have varying types
but complementing functions. During the first trimester, this embryo becomes a
fetus, at least for humans, which exhibits a form that would be manifested in the
baby to be born after some six months more stay in the mothers womb an
accommodation like no other. Upon being brought to life outside the mother, the
infant is already able to at least cry, breathe, and eat and most importantly,
undergo further development with new cells being formed and differentiated as one
grows, matures and even undergoes senescence.
Said cells are actually composed of the same set of chromosomes, and thus
the same genes, but could give rise to different cell types when genes are the major
determinants of development and these findings posed a major question for the
scientists in the past. However, today the answer is known and this is because of
the proper turning on and off of genes and this is where gene regulation deems
most significance when cells actually regulate the produced gene products to only
be present when required at the right amount, in the right place, at the right time.
With that answered, many more questions ascend that the need for a special
field that would explore gene regulation during development becomes even more
evident and thus, developmental genetics is established; in this case, analyzing
mutations that result to development abnormalities aid in shedding light on how
normal genes control cell growth, cell communication, and the establishment of
specialized cells, tissues and, organs.
By developmental genetics and the growing number of people greatly
interested in the field, great discoveries are actually not far from grasp. Yet again,
many practical and ethical limitations to conduct such studies hurdle the possible
advancement and one of which is the not so discernible instance wherein mutation
types that occur in the earliest stage of development - seen to be the one of the
most interesting but least studied lead to spontaneous abortion of the life form
usually even before the mother becomes aware of being pregnant.
Still, developmental genetics offer many more discoveries yet to be unfold
amidst such challenges and to date, it made us aware that the genes that control
development have been highly conserved through evolution and that genes
themselves do not serve as determinants of development since signals that are
encountered by the cells from other cells and even those from the environment can
strongly affect how genes function.