In a potential methods breakthrough, stem cell biologists grew mouse embryos for five-and-a-half days in vitro, longer than ever before. Appearing recently in Nature, the study unveils new protocols and equipment, including a temperature-and-pressure-controlled incubator that enabled the coauthors to … Continue reading
Journal Club
Highlighting recent, timely papers selected by Academy member labs
Category Archives: Developmental Biology
Lab-cultured mouse embryos, grown for an extended period, offer a new window on fetal development
Categories: Developmental Biology | Journal Club
Tagged blastoid, embryos, fetal development, in vitro, mouse embryo, pre-implantation embryo, stem cell, Zika
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Smaller salamander species associated with smaller genomes
The world’s tiniest salamanders are so small that some body parts appear to get short shrift. Those in the genus Thorius, for example, have heads that are “mind bogglingly small, maybe half the size of a pencil eraser,” says herpetologist … Continue reading
Categories: Developmental Biology | Evolution | Genetics | Journal Club | Physiology
Tagged cells, dinosaur, evolution, frog, genome, phylogenetic tree, retrotransposon, salamander
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Common features of domestic animals suggest caveats to evolutionary theory
White patches on fur coats, floppy ears, and curly tails are some of the traits frequently seen in domesticated animals. A group of researchers has now put forth a theory as to why these traits so often evolve in association … Continue reading
Categories: Agriculture | Developmental Biology | Evolution | Genetics | Journal Club
Tagged developmental bias, domesticated animals, domestication syndrome, evolution, neural crest cells
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Honeybee queens influence offspring caste through egg size
Queen bees have surprising sway over the future development of their eggs, a recent study reports. The reigning bee matriarch lays larger eggs in the wax honeycomb cells where workers raise new queens as compared with the eggs laid in … Continue reading
Categories: Developmental Biology | Genetics | Journal Club
Tagged honeybee, maternal effect, queen
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Journal Club: Scientists culture human placenta cells in hopes of understanding pregnancy complications
A collection of human placental cells known as trophoblasts are responsible for much of what goes right in a healthy pregnancy. But growing and studying these cells in the lab has been a major challenge. Now, a team of Japanese … Continue reading
Categories: Cell Biology | Developmental Biology | Journal Club | Reproductive biology | Uncategorized
Tagged placenta, pregnancy, stem cell, trophoblast
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Journal Club: Cells use waves to regulate mitosis, suggesting similar wave dynamics as myriad natural phenomena
Over the past decade, biologists have discovered an ever-increasing number of phenomena that exhibit wave-like behavior. Everything from the firing of neurons to the spread of a virus through a population can show a similar pattern: they emanate from … Continue reading
Categories: Cell Biology | Developmental Biology | Journal Club | Physics
Tagged actin, diffusion, endocytosis, mitosis, plasma membrane, wave
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Journal Club: Female flies fight back against mate-guarding by males
After mating, males of many species take steps to keep their partners from having sex with other males. But some females may have evolved tricks to foil these measures. Researchers studying the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster have discovered that when … Continue reading
Categories: Developmental Biology | Journal Club
Tagged drosophila, pheromones, reproduction, sex
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Journal Club: Ancient fish moving to land used their tails as crutches
The evolution from fish living in water to vertebrates living on land was one of the most pivotal moments in the history of the animal kingdom. Now scientists using robot fish suggest that these ancient pioneers may have used their … Continue reading
Categories: Developmental Biology | Engineering | Evolution
Tagged locomotion, mudskipper, robot, tail
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Selective vapor response of butterfly wings might have useful applications
The mesmerizing wings of the tropical butterfly Morpho often shimmer blue, green and violet. The iridescence of these wings doesn’t result from pigments or dyes, but from structures that reflect and scatter light waves, making them interfere with each other … Continue reading
Categories: Chemistry | Developmental Biology
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Egg cells regulate their own maturation chemicals
Mammalian egg cells are each surrounded by a blanket of cells known as the ovarian follicle. Scientists knew follicles released molecules that controlled the development of egg cells until they are ready for fertilization. Now researchers discover that egg cells … Continue reading
Categories: Developmental Biology
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