Posted by Rachael Inglis on June 28th, 2013
Just before the ISDB meeting in Mexico, over a hundred researchers gathered for a satellite symposium on the development of left-right asymmetry. Although the external body plans of vertebrates (and many invertebrates) are bilaterally symmetrical, various internal organs are positioned asymmetrically. For example, the heart is located towards the left, but paired organs such as[…]
Posted by Rachael Inglis on April 19th, 2013
Last week, I was distracted somewhat by a palaeontology article in Nature: Reisz and colleagues reported their discovery of some fossilised dinosaur embryos. Not exactly relevant to my research, but very cool nonetheless… The remains that they unearthed in southern China are from the early Jurassic period, almost 200 million years old, and are thought[…]
Posted by Rachael Inglis on November 5th, 2012
Last week, the Royal Society hosted a meeting entitled “Regulation from a distance: Long-range control of gene expression in development and disease”. The impressive London offices of the Society (complete with double helix-inspired door handles) added a sense of occasion to what was bound to be a fascinating meeting, based on the list of excellent[…]
Posted by Rachael Inglis on September 14th, 2012
Given that most readers of this post will be developmental biologists, it seems slightly unnecessary to point out that development is an amazing, beautiful process. But it’s true! The expansion and rearrangement of a little ball of cells that gradually resolves into the shape of an animal is awe-inspiring when you see it for the[…]