The ACE-OF-SPACE project aims to dissect and understand how the interplay between signaling pathways governs vertebrate embryogenesis and pattern formation. To analyze how signaling pathways influence vertebrate development, we have recently developed EmbryoNet, a deep-learning algorithm that can link embryonic phenotypes to defects in the major developmental signaling pathways. To determine how combinatorial signaling influences developmental gene expression, we have investigated the temporal kinetics, spatial signaling and cooperative action of the TGF-β superfamily signals Nodal and BMP using optogenetic tools, membrane-bound nanobodies and light-sheet microscopy. To understand how the interplay between signaling molecules leads to self-organized patterning, we have developed new vertebrate stem cell-based systems that are experimentally accessible and display robust patterns. Finally, we have designed and constructed synthetic biological patterning systems based on high-throughput mathematical analysis. We have assembled the synthetic system from DNA fragments and closely monitored its activity through fluorescence microscopy in bacterial colonies. Interestingly, the engineered synthetic system replicates behaviors also found in vertebrate development, paving the way to understand the minimal requirements for the emergence of patterns in multicellular systems.