Developmental biology is the branch of biological sciences that investigates the processes by which organisms grow, differentiate, and acquire their form from fertilization to adulthood and often through regeneration and aging. It integrates molecular genetics, cell biology, genomics, and systems biology to elucidate mechanisms such as cell fate specification, pattern formation, morphogenesis, and organogenesis. Developmental biology examines regulatory gene networks, signaling pathways (e.g., Wnt, Hedgehog, Notch, TGF-β), epigenetic modifications, and mechanical forces that coordinate spatial and temporal control of gene expression and cellular behavior, providing a framework for understanding congenital disorders, tissue regeneration, and evolutionary changes in body plans.
Researchers at EPFL have created the first 4D lipid atlas of vertebrate development, revealing how fats shape our bodies from embryo to organism.
Biotechnology
Sep 3, 2025
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Cornell researchers have uncovered the genetic triggers that cause male and female bovine embryos to develop differently, as early as seven to eight days after fertilization. The breakthrough in basic science has implications ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 29, 2025
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Cellular differentiation of stem cells into specialized cells requires many steps, including division, to create more cells; fate determination, which is a commitment to a specific lineage or developmental path; and migration, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 28, 2025
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All living beings, big or small, are formed through the hard work of many different cells. To keep the body ready for any challenge, cells need to be dynamic. Often, this means the same types of cell—for example, red blood ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 28, 2025
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Zebrafish midline tissues coordinate their growth during embryonic development using a leader-follower strategy described by formation control, as reported by researchers from Japan and the U.S. The notochord leads elongation, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 26, 2025
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With today's advanced microscopes, scientists can capture videos of entire embryos developing in real time. But there's a catch: turning those breathtaking images into clean, accurate trajectories of each cell's journey as ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 25, 2025
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Studying the process of brain formation illuminates just how much of development is a series of tiny miracles. Only a few weeks after a human egg is fertilized, a sheet of cells called the neural plate widens, stretches and ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 21, 2025
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In the past, scientists believed that the fast-acting biochemistry of genes and proteins was responsible for directing the forces that shape developing organs. But a new study from Syracuse University shows that steady, powerful ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Aug 21, 2025
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The complex 3D shapes of brains, lungs, eyes, hands, and other vital bodily structures emerge from the way in which flat 2D sheets of cells fold during embryonic development. Now, researchers at Columbia Engineering have ...
Biotechnology
Aug 21, 2025
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More than one-sixth of adults around the world experience infertility in their lifetime. There is a high unmet need not only for increased access to affordable, high-quality fertility care for those in need but, importantly, ...
Biotechnology
Aug 17, 2025
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