Descriptions of the embryo go back at least to the time of Aristotle, but it has only been since the late 19 th century and early 20 th century that advances in experimental approaches allowed ...

Two to three weeks after conception, an embryo faces a critical point in its development. In the stage known as gastrulation, the transformation of embryonic cells into specialized cells begins. This ...

Biologists have provided new insights on a longstanding puzzle in biology: How complex organisms arise from a single fertilized cell. Producing a new 'gene atlas' with 4-D imaging, the researchers ...

The architecture of the body is not encoded as a formal blueprint; rather, it's the tightly orchestrated activation and ...

Pregnant women rely on a balanced diet and supplements to deliver proper nutrients to their babies, to ensure they grow healthfully. Such nutrients contribute to fueling development and providing ...

With today's advanced microscopes, scientists can capture videos of entire embryos developing in real time. But there's a catch: turning those breathtaking images into clean, accurate trajectories of ...

Physical cues in the womb, and not just genetics, influence the normal development of neural crest cells, the embryonic stem cells that form facial features, finds a new study. Physical cues in the ...

A team of scientists at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) has uncovered a previously unknown mechanism that controls how genes are switched ‘on’ and ‘off’ during embryonic development.

Shelby is an assistant editor for The Scientist. She earned her PhD from West Virginia University in immunology and microbiology and completed an AAAS Mass Media fellowship. View full profile. Learn ...