No matter the species, from flies to humans, we all start the same: a single-cell fertilized egg that embarks on an incredible journey. The specifics of this journey are being uncovered at Rutgers University–Camden, where a biologist is researching how from one cell a jumble of many are able to organize and communicate, allowing life to spring forth.

Those small fruit flies buzzing around your bananas are more than pests-they may be allies in a fruitful search for clues to human diseases caused when genes malfunction.