Mateo's Complete Developmental Story
Take the reading one piece at a time. For each piece: read it once, underline the sentence that says what happens, then look up any word in the list. Tap a word to see its definition.
Piece 1 of 3
The case file, unchanged since day one (a composite case, not a real patient): born at term with a complete unilateral (left) cleft lip and palate; newborn exam found no other birth defects; parents unaffected and the family history sparse and ambiguous.
Piece 2 of 3
The twenty-lesson evidence board: the face is built from blocks that fuse on schedule (weeks 4 to 12); cranial neural crest built Mateo's other structures (jaw, ears, eyes) normally; fusion needs the seam to dissolve under TGF-beta3 and IRF6; signals (SHH, BMP, FGF, WNT) set growth and fate with no sign of global disruption; environment and epigenetics tune the odds (second hit); and a failed step can be mapped and even rescued in a mouse.
Piece 3 of 3
Two stories: Story A, a syndrome where one powerful gene fault broke many structures at once; Story B, an isolated, multifactorial fusion failure where several small pushes tipped ONE fusion step over its threshold and nothing else was affected. Let the evidence choose.
Reading the Research
- Skim the title and abstract first to get the gist.
- Circle the one sentence that states the main claim.
- Box the evidence the authors give for that claim.
- Mark one sentence that confuses you, and move on.
Now put it together: In one or two sentences, say what this whole reading is telling you about Mateo. Then go back to the lesson and fill in the guided notes.