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.
Most species on Earth exist as two biological sexes, and the exchange of genes between males and females is vital for their survival. Yet, what actually determines whether an individual develops into a male or female varies ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 10, 2025
0
44
Scientists at the FMI and the University of California-Santa Cruz have found that similar molecular machineries control daily circadian rhythms and developmental timing. Their study with worms shows that core timing systems ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Nov 4, 2025
0
16
Every cell in the body has the same DNA, but different cell types—such as muscle or brain cells—use different parts of it. Transcription factors help cells activate specific genes by reading certain DNA sequences, but since ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 4, 2025
0
191
How do embryos develop? Why does the cortex of the mammalian brain fold? How do we feel touch at our fingertips? These and other fundamental biological questions remain unsolved. Yet, scientists know they all rely on a common ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 29, 2025
0
42
The microscopic flatworm (Stenostomum brevipharyngium) is one of nature's weirder creatures. Chop off its head, and it'll grow one back. Cut it in half, and it'll become two separate healthy worms. And now scientists have ...
Cells contain a blueprint in the form of DNA that dictates what they can make. This blueprint is converted into a message (mRNA), which is then converted into a protein. Although DNA remains the same in all cells, how it ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 28, 2025
0
142
A new study published in Nature Biotechnology shows that stem cell differentiation is linked to cellular structures called P-bodies, providing a potential means of controlling cell identity. Researchers at Baylor College ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 28, 2025
0
27
Researchers have uncovered genetic elements that drive the rapid development of marsupials' facial features.
Plants & Animals
Oct 28, 2025
0
15
Research by Assistant Professor Jacob S. Suissa at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is revealing complexity in how ferns have evolved. Instead of the vascular structure inside fern stems changing as a direct adaptation ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 27, 2025
1
54
Biological rhythms aren't just for sleep. In the tiny worm C. elegans, researchers in the Grosshans lab and the Computational Biology Platform of the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research have found thousands ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Oct 15, 2025
0
15
