Behind the paper stories
Every paper has a story behind it, and we regularly commission scientists to tell theirs. In this collection you’ll discover the highs and the lows, the chance encounters and life changing discoveries from the breadth of developmental biology and stem cell research.
Recent posts
Don’t eat me!!
Posted by Cecilia Pessoa, on 15 November 2024
When I joined the Zon lab in June 2021, my mentor, Leonard Zon, shared an insightful piece of advice: “A good project always has two questions, one you can answer …Behind the paper: A transcriptomic hourglass in brown algae
Posted by Jaruwatana Sodai Lotharukpong, on 12 November 2024
Brown algae are a group of complex multicellular eukaryotes, unrelated to animals, plants and fungi. It follows that brown algae evolved the process of multicellular development independently, offering a unique …Behind the paper: Highlighting skeleton-producing cells during the development of a pentaradial animal
Posted by Heidi Tate, on 24 September 2024
Read the story behind the paper “Localization and origins of juvenile skeletogenic cells in the sea urchin Lytechinus pictus” from Heidi Tate.Making a map: exploring the origins of the shoulder and neck
Posted by Shunya Kuroda, on 18 September 2024
Read the story behind the paper “Multiple embryonic sources converge to form the pectoral girdle skeleton in zebrafish” from first author Shunya Kuroda.A short rant on the present and future of developmental biology
Posted by Jonas Hartmann, on 11 September 2024
Observing a cluster of migrating cells or a developing embryo through the lens of a microscope can be a visceral experience; one is struck by the ephemeral beauty, layered complexity, …The bumpy journey to the signal that kicks off endosperm development
Posted by Sarsim, on 9 September 2024
Here, Sara Simonini and Ueli Grossniklaus from the Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology and Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, University of Zurich, tell the story behind the paper “A paternal …How we learned to build a gliding mammal
Posted by Jorge Moreno, on 2 September 2024
Read the story behind the paper “Emx2 underlies the development and evolution of marsupial gliding membranes” from first author Jorge Moreno.When a medical doctor steps into a developmental biology lab to study the mechanics of human embryo development
Posted by Jean-Léon Maître, on 29 August 2024
Read the story behind the paper “Mechanics of human embryo compaction” from Jean-Léon Maître and Julie Firmin.
“If you notice something unusual in your experiments, don’t just throw it away!”
Do you have a story to tell? We can give comments on drafts and any level of editing you want, and we particularly encourage contributions from researchers for whom English is not their first language.
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Our full archive going back to 2010 is filterable by category, tag and date.