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.
As biologists know, nature can take its sweet time explaining itself. Andrew Gillis, associate scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), has been investigating how the paired fins of fishes evolved for nearly 20 ...
Evolution
Apr 1, 2026
0
52
New research is significantly revising a widely cited evolutionary model, the Inhibitory Cascade Mode (ICM). Benjamin Auerbach, professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee, ...
Evolution
Mar 30, 2026
0
87
Having a baby in space may require a bit more direction, with new Adelaide University research revealing the navigational abilities of sperm are negatively impacted by a lack of gravity. Researchers at the University's Robinson ...
Space Exploration
Mar 26, 2026
0
148
Infants' helplessness demonstrates unique social implications for human development. In a new paper developmental psychology researchers from the University of Ottawa explored human infants' helplessness as a key to human ...
Other
Mar 24, 2026
0
16
In conventional pathology and physiology research, two-dimensional (2D) analysis—observing thinly sliced tissue sections—has been mainstream, making it difficult to comprehensively understand the distribution of cells across ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 23, 2026
0
6
Animals come in an extraordinary range of body shapes. A starfish looks nothing like an earthworm, a mouse, or a human. Yet even closely related species can appear radically different: corals, jellyfish, and sea anemones ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 20, 2026
0
17
Biobots, whose growing line of variants started with xenobots, are fascinating tiny self-powered living robots built exclusively using frog embryonic cells. Originally developed in the laboratories of Wyss Institute Associate ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 16, 2026
1
112
Scientists have long observed that embryos of different species within a phylum look quite distinct at early and late developmental stages but resemble one another more during mid-embryogenesis, a phenomenon known as developmental ...
Evolution
Mar 16, 2026
0
12
Every multicellular organism, from tiny worms to humans, elephants, and whales, needs a way for their cells to connect with each other to form tissues, organs, and organize their overall body plan. Cells have a variety of ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 16, 2026
0
14
In reptiles, a simple temperature change can determine whether an egg develops into a male or female. This process is formally known as temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), in which the sex of an embryo is determined ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 13, 2026
0
23
