A day in the life…
Developmental biology is characterised by the diversity of organisms we put under the microscope. Each one comes with its own strengths and challenges, quirks and even personalities, and researchers often develop a close affinity with their particular model. Our ‘A day in the life’ series gives insights into what it is like to work with a given organism, day in, day out, as well as showcasing the particular questions the organism is most suited to address.
Recent posts
A day in the life of a moss lab
Posted by James Lloyd, on 15 November 2013
I am James Lloyd and have just finished my PhD at the University of Leeds, UK working with Prof Brendan Davies (plant developmental biologist) and Dr Andrew Cuming (moss biologist). …A day in the life of a Drosophila lab
Posted by Nana Shimosako, on 28 October 2013
My name is Nana and I’m a third year PhD student at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research in London. Our lab is in the Division of Molecular Neurobiology—so …A day in the life of…a mouse lab
Posted by Natalie Butterfield, on 11 October 2013
I work at the National Institute for Medical Research in London. My project is currently investigating the cues governing development of the limb, with an emphasis on cartilage patterning in …A Day in the Life of… a Zebrafish lab
Posted by Andrew Mathewson, on 8 October 2013
My name is Andrew Mathewson and I am a fourth year graduate student in the University of Washington’s Molecular and Cellular Biology program. Whereas most my friends from college are …A Day in the Life of…a Xenopus lab
Posted by Gary McDowell, on 2 October 2013
I am Gary McDowell, a postdoctoral researcher at Tufts Centre for Regenerative Biology and Developmental Biology. I have just finished a postdoctoral position in a mass spectrometry lab at …‘A day in the life of…’ a new series on the Node!
Posted by the Node, on 2 October 2013
To uncover the mysteries of development, developmental biologists use an amazingly wide range of systems – from cells in culture to live mouse embryos, and from classical model organisms to …Featured movie: going underwater with Parhyale, from Erin Jarvis’ post
A day in the life of one lab starts at 6.30 AM at the Point View Marina in Rhode Island – read Cat Munro’s piece to find out which hard-to-catch animals they are after
Is your model missing? Let us know – we’d love you to write a ‘day in the life’ for us
Browse the zoo!
- Arabidopsis
- Ascidian
- Axolotl
- Bat
- Butterfly
- C. elegans
- Capitella
- Chick
- Cnidarian
- Colonial tunicate
- Coral
- Cricket
- Ctenophore
- Drosophila
- Embryonic stem cells
- Gar
- Honeybee
- Hydractinia
- Lamprey
- Larval-microbe
- Lizard
- Marchantia
- Maize
- Mayfly
- Moss
- Mouse
- Oikopleura
- Onychophoran
- Parhyale
- Planarian
- Platynereis
- Rhinoceros beetle
- Sea urchin
- Shark
- Siphonophore
- Skate
- Spider
- Sponge
- Termite
- Turtle
- Xenopus
- Zebrafish
We’ve collated various model organism databases and useful links over on our Resources page