A press release from Development It’s challenging to sustain a pregnancy when food is short, or conditions are otherwise tough. That’s why many mammalian embryos can postpone their growth to get through periods of environmental stress and then re-enter development when conditions improve. This stalling of development is known as embryonic diapause, and understanding the mechanisms behind it might help improve infertility treatments, such as embryo freezing. Now, researchers at the Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai, C ..read more

Development has just published their 30th interview in the ‘Transitions in development‘ series. This series of interviews features principal investigators (PIs) within the first five or so years of establishing their own research group. Through these conversations, Development aims to illustrate that there is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to securing an independent position and setting up a research programme. Discussing the challenges and difficulties new PIs have overcome and highlighting the best moments will hopefully offer encouragement to other ECRs and stimulate discussion around t ..read more

Where is the lab? The lab is located in the southern part of the city of Lyon, France on the campus of the Ecole normale supérieure (ENS). It is one of the CNRS research groups at the Institute of Functional Genomics of Lyon (IGFL), which focuses on integrating developmental, physiological and evolutionary perspectives to study complex biological systems at the organism level. Research summary Our group studies the morphogenesis of brown algae. These organisms, some of which can grow to 45 m long, have evolved independently of plants and animals. We work on identifying the strategies that thes ..read more

In this SciArt profile, we meet Maja Mielke, who is doing a PhD in functional morphology and enjoys making nature-inspired drawings. Saharan horned viper (pen and ink). I used a photo by National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore as reference for this illustration. Saharan horned viper (pen and ink). I used a photo by National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore as reference for this illustration. Saharan horned viper (pen and ink). I used a photo by National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore as reference for this illustration. Can you tell us about your background and what you work ..read more

Birmingham, UK, May 7-8, 2024 Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre Do you study Development? Complex cellular systems? Cancer? Then we’d love to have you at our Meeting “Cell Lineages across scales, space and time”! Lineage trajectories and cellular decisions coordinate embryonic development and growth. Similarly, cellular origin and clonal trajectories are crucial elements to understanding and modulating the response to injury, disease, and therapies. This meeting will showcase cutting-edge research spanning developmental biology, regeneration, and cancer, in light of recently developed ..read more

Welcome to our monthly trawl for developmental and stem cell biology (and related) preprints. The preprints this month are hosted on bioRxiv and arXiv – use these links below to get to the section you want: Developmental biology Patterning & signalling Morphogenesis & mechanics Genes & genomes Stem cells, regeneration & disease modelling Plant development Evo-devo Cell Biology Modelling Tools & Resources Research practice and education Developmental biology | Patterning & signalling DVL1 variants and C-terminal deletions have differential effects on craniofacia ..read more

Where is the lab? The lab is in the School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, UK. Research summary We aim to understand how human developmental cell fate decisions are controlled and exploit this knowledge for regenerative medicine and disease modelling applications. We are focusing particularly on defining how embryonic cells acquire an anteroposterior (A-P) axial identity and its effect on disease vulnerability and developmental potency/plasticity. To address our questions, we employ human pluripotent stem cell (hPSCs) differentiation as an in vitro model of early human embryonic d ..read more

Where is the lab? We are located in Lund, a small city in Southern Sweden. The University was founded in 1666, and consists of many old beautiful buildings. The lab is affiliated with the Division of Pediatrics, and we’re part of the Lund Stem Cell Center. Lab website: Tissue Development and Evolution Research summary We are intrigued by how we can utilize the setting of normal embryonic development to understand tumor initiation. Our focus lies primarily on how cancer forms neuroblastoma and paraganglioma develop during embryogenesis. These cancers arise in the adrenal gland and along (para ..read more

In this SciArt profile, we find out more about Brent Foster, whose artwork was selected as the Judge’s and People’s Choice in the Node-BSDB virtual art exhibition in the ‘Art by Scientists’ category back in September 2023. Brent is also one of the Node correspondents and has written a wide range of posts for our site. We caught up with Brent to find out more about his recent artistic projects and how he takes inspiration from the marine invertebrates he works with to create his drawings. Chalk drawing of a nautilus. Chalk drawing of a nautilus. Chalk drawing of a nautilus. Can you tell us ..read more

In the last of the series of speakers from Development’s 2023 Pathway to Independence programme, we heard from two researchers studying the role of RNA biology in development. Eric Cornes (ARNA Lab, Inserm/University of Bordeaux) Talk and Q&A by Eric Cornes Maya Spichal (University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School) Talk and Q&A by Maya Spichal The post Catch up on Development presents… March webinar on RNAs in development appeared first on the Node ..read more