Drawing life as it begins

The video explores the history of microscopic exploration, starting over a century ago with Edwin Grant Conklin's study of snail embryos. Conklin meticulously traced cell development using a camera lucida, a technique that involved drawing each cell division by hand. His work revealed that embryonic cells have predetermined fates, challenging the belief that cells randomly form organs. Beatrice Steinert later revisited Conklin's methods for her thesis, highlighting the challenges of tracing cells without modern technology. Today, computers can visualize embryos in ways Conklin could only imagine, reflecting his mental imagery of cell development.

What was Beatrice Steinert's interest in Conklin's work for her senior thesis?

In what ways have modern tools improved the study of embryonic development compared to Conklin's time?