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
How do new cell types evolve? Sea urchins show the way….
Posted by ettenson, on 21 November 2019
We know surprisingly little about how evolution has created new cell types. One of the best examples of a recently evolved cell type comes from early sea urchin development. Most …A biology-modeling crosstalk to uncover feather pattern evolution
Posted by mariemanceau, on 20 November 2019
Richard Bailleul, Jonathan Touboul and Marie Manceau Patterning in question: 60 years of mathematical and biological studies The coat of Vertebrates displays a stunning diversity of motifs created by …How do cells know their future and forget their past
Posted by Noami Dayan, on 7 November 2019
All cells in the body contain the same genetic material. The difference between cells therefore depends solely on which genes are expressed or ‘turned on’. Now, researchers from the University …Secret talk between epithelium and endothelium determines hair follicle stem cell fate
Posted by PrachiJain, on 6 November 2019
By Kefei Nina Li and Prachi Jain Stem cells are typically defined by their ability to self-renew and differentiate. These activities are tightly controlled by both intrinsic cues and …“My balance comes from instability” thought Herzog (Saul Bellow, Herzog)
Posted by zelhanil, on 28 October 2019
A bit of background The dependence of a protein’s function on its structure is a well-known phenomenon. Back in 1970’s, it was suggested that most proteins would fold into one …A gnawing question: which cells are responsible for tooth renewal and regeneration?
Posted by Amnon Sharir, on 23 October 2019
By Amnon Sharir (UCSF), Allon M Klein (HMS), Ophir D Klein (UCSF) As most mouse geneticists know, treating a rodent with malocclusion of its front teeth can be a Sisyphean task: …The serpent’s maw: mouth function and the dynamics of Hydra regeneration
Posted by collinslab, on 30 September 2019
One of the biggest open questions in biology is how organisms can form complex patterns (limbs, organs, entire body plans) from initially disordered or very simple states. Every animal does …Using hemimetabolous insects to investigate the origin of the tra-dsx axis
Posted by jrwexler, on 24 September 2019
The story behind our recent paper in eLife. Rapid turn over of sex determination mechanisms provides biologists with an elegant study system connecting sexual selection to molecular evolution. Striking …
“If you notice something unusual in your experiments, don’t just throw it away!”
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Our full archive going back to 2010 is filterable by category, tag and date.