Every animal begins as a pluripotent zygote. Much like adult stem cells, the zygote produces descendants that eventually commit to specific lineages. However, it remains unknown whether the molecular mechanisms governing the maintenance of pluripotency and the subsequent switch to differentiation are conserved between embryonic and adult contexts. By analyzing the transitions in gene expression and chromatin architecture during both embryonic and adult specification, we seek to uncover which aspects of pluripotency and cell specification are essential, and which aspects can vary depending on the context.