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.
Scientists have discovered a key biological safeguard that helps one of nature's most impressive regenerators, the planarian flatworm, correctly rebuild its organs. The new research, published in Nature Communications, illuminates ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 2, 2026
0
14
Hair regrowth treatment may soon take a major leap forward, as researchers in a recent study have successfully grown complete, fully functional hair follicles outside of the living body, in a dish. This was made possible ...
How do plants achieve their remarkably regular arrangement of leaves and flowers? And why does this pattern remain so stable, even as plants grow and respond to their environment? Researchers at Wageningen University & Research ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 25, 2026
0
27
For decades, scientists viewed the genome of a newly fertilized egg as a structural "blank slate"—a disordered tangle of DNA waiting for the embryo to wake up and start reading its own genetic instructions. In research published ...
Biotechnology
Feb 24, 2026
0
84
For many animals, siblings are a key component of their social environment during early life. Previous research has shown that the early social environment is important, but it has not yet been clear whether the number of ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 23, 2026
0
14
A new study suggests that babies are able to distinguish between the different objects they see around them at 2 months old, which is earlier than scientists previously thought.
Other
Feb 21, 2026
0
42
Passing on fundamental life lessons from parent to offspring is not unique to humans and animals. Ferns do it too. Not with words, but through pressure. By applying force at precisely the right locations, a fern tells its ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 20, 2026
0
23
When we hear certain sounds, our brains often pair them with specific shapes. For example, most people will associate a sharp-sounding word with a jagged, pointed shape, while a soft, rolling word is linked to something smooth ...
In human cells, DNA carries chemical or "epigenetic" marks that decide how genes will be used in different tissues. Yet in a group of specialized cells, known as "germ cells," which will later form sperm and eggs, these inherited ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 20, 2026
0
30
A research team at the IPK Leibniz Institute has developed a method that enables the detailed observation of female meiosis—the process by which germ cells are formed—in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The FeM-ID (Female ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 19, 2026
0
28
