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.
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
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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
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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
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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
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One of the most widely accepted models for how cells remember their identity may be incorrect. This is shown in a new study by two research groups at Umeå University. In Science Advances, they present results that overturn ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 13, 2026
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How does a tiny cluster of cells become an embryo with a head, trunk, and tail? And how do thousands of genes coordinate this development? A new imaging method makes it possible to visualize the activity of thousands of genes ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 12, 2026
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A study has traced thousands of conserved regulatory elements back 300 million years, revealing deep principles of plant genome evolution—a discovery that could pave the way for more precise engineering of crop traits.
Evolution
Mar 12, 2026
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How do biological cells join forces to form a structure? In her Ph.D. research, Daphne Nesenberend uses mathematics to show how forces and cooperation between cells create structure—and how simulations and experiments can ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 5, 2026
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New 3D reconstructions of a key sensory organ in ctenophores reveal an unexpected structural and functional complexity. The findings suggest that an elementary brain may have already appeared in our most ancient relatives, ...
Evolution
Mar 4, 2026
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87
A research group led by Associate Professor Tetsuya Muramoto from the Faculty of Science, Toho University, has established a CRISPR genome editing technique that enables comparative analysis of the evolution of multicellularity ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 3, 2026
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