The community site for and by
developmental and stem cell biologists

Behind the paper stories

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

The pattern of research

Posted by , on 2 April 2019

The correct patterning of embryonic tissues is essential for normal development. Aberrant patterning can lead to developmental abnormalities and pathogenic defects. Therefore, studying developmental patterning is important to better understand …

Making Multiciliated Cells: The Guardians of Our Airways

Posted by , on 1 April 2019

With air pollution on the rise, our respiratory system is continually abused by a barrage of harmful substances that we breathe in with each inhalation. Fortunately, we are equipped with …

Plant stem cells strive towards equality

Posted by , on 8 February 2019

By George Bassel and Iain Johnston Multicellular organs consist of collections of cells which come together to achieve what individual cells cannot. The establishment of order in complex tissues has …

Hox genes: the key to decipher limb position – the story behind the paper

Posted by , on 6 February 2019

In our recent paper published in Current Biology, we unravel the direct and early role for Hox genes in the regulation and natural variation of the forelimb position in birds. …

It’s the Father! Paternally expressed BABY BOOM1 initiates embryogenesis in rice

Posted by , on 29 January 2019

The story behind our recent Nature paper ‘A male-expressed rice embryogenic trigger redirected for asexual propagation through seeds‘ For sexually reproducing organisms, the diploid life cycle starts with the fusion …

“If you notice something unusual in your experiments, don’t just throw it away!”

Read Laura Pellegrini’s piece on choroid plexus organoids 

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.

Updated on 21 August 2024