developmental biology

Researchers explore the idea that molecular patterns in individual cells could underlie the development of a left and a right in animals.

Researchers use imaging to show how actin fibers tilt and then swirl to create left-right asymmetry in the cell.

Mintz’s experiments over her six-decade career were foundational to cancer and genetics research.

The primitive streak, a structure that emerges during mammalian and avian gastrulation, might be a byproduct rather than a landmark of the embryonic development process.

Pharoah’s work ended endemic cretinism in a remote region of Papua New Guinea and contributed to the understanding of myriad other perinatal health conditions.

Take a break from the bench to puzzle and peruse.

Work in rodents shows that the bacteria living in a mother’s gut can produce immunomodulatory metabolites and influence the production of maternal antibodies—both of which can affect her offspring’s development.

Bacteria in the gut influence the production of antibodies and themselves secrete metabolites. In a pregnant woman, these compounds may influence immune development of her fetus.

Spontaneous waves of nerve impulses flowing across the retina help mouse pups practice motion detection for when they eventually open their eyes.

Researchers identify live bacteria in fetal guts, skin, lungs, and placentas that activate memory T cells, indicating that early exposure to microbes could help educate the developing immune system.

The hormone, which is well known for regulating appetite, appears to influence neuronal development—a finding that could shed light on disorders such as autism that involve dysfunctional synapse formation.

Human stem cells injected into early monkey embryos proliferate and contribute to multiple cell lineages over 20 days of embryonic development.

The embryos completed one-third of their total gestation outside of a uterus.

Two new papers describe the generation of so-called blastoids, which could avoid the use of embryonic cells and make studying early human development much more accessible.

Wolpert, who conducted research at University College London, was known for his work on morphogenesis and pattern development in embryos and for his multiple books and broadcast appearances.

A gain-of-function mutation in a single gene reveals ancient limb-forming capacity that has been preserved for hundreds of millions of years.