The development of organisms is a complex process that continues to drive intrigue and exploration. In a new paper from Developmental and Cell Biology Assistant Professor Zeba Wunderlich and graduate student Rachel Waymack, in collaboration with Alvaro Fletcher and Professor German Enciso from the Department of Mathematics, the researchers shed new light on organismal development and the purpose of unique regions of the genome referred to as “shadow” enhancers. These special enhancers help provide an extra set of instructions for when and where to turn genes on.