214 papers
Developmental biology explores the incredible journey of how a single cell transforms into a complex, living organism. This field investigates the molecular switches and cellular conversations that guide growth, tissue formation, and the emergence of unique body structures, helping us understand both the origins of life and the roots of developmental disorders.
At Gist.Science, we ensure you never miss a breakthrough by processing every new preprint in this category from bioRxiv. Our team provides both plain-language explanations and detailed technical summaries for each paper, making cutting-edge research accessible to everyone regardless of their scientific background.
Below are the latest studies in developmental biology, offering fresh insights into how life takes shape.
Using a murine model, this study demonstrates that advanced maternal age impairs decidual angiogenesis and spiral artery remodeling through imbalances in VEGF and angiopoietin signaling, thereby linking vascular aging to poor pregnancy outcomes and future cardiovascular risks.
This study demonstrates that in zebrafish, neuronal serotonin signaling regulates spinal stability during growth not by directly shaping the skeleton, but by controlling motor activity, where its deficiency leads to altered swimming patterns that mechanically induce progressive spinal curvature.
This study employs comparative single-cell transcriptomics to map gene expression divergence in *Drosophila* male genitalia, revealing how specific transcriptional changes and cellular mechanisms, such as BMP signaling and ZP-domain proteins, drive the morphological evolution of complex structures like the posterior lobe.
This study demonstrates that Odad1 is essential for assembling outer dynein arms in both 9+0 nodal and 9+2 multiciliated cilia, thereby ensuring proper ciliary motility and embryonic left-right patterning, with patient-derived mutations confirming its critical role in human ciliopathy.
This study reveals that the transcription factor SP1 physically tethers NR2F2 to drive human atrial cardiomyocyte identity, a mechanism uncovered through a novel systematic approach integrating single-cell multi-omics, AlphaFold predictions, and experimental validation in human iPSC-derived cells.
This study reveals that leg regeneration in pancrustaceans involves a conserved, sequential process of genome-wide chromatin shutdown followed by selective regulatory reopening and the activation of the pioneer transcription factor Zelda, rather than a simple restoration of the pre-injury landscape.
This study reveals that the epigenetic repressor ZNF462 orchestrates human developmental timing by differentially regulating lineage-specific enhancers, where its haploinsufficiency paradoxically slows neural progenitor differentiation while accelerating neural crest specification, thereby elucidating the molecular basis of Weiss-Kruszka syndrome.
This study reveals that in *Drosophila* c4da neurons, ecdysone-induced epidermal remodeling during metamorphosis provides a delayed signal via insulin receptor and Ret receptor tyrosine kinases to coordinate and instruct dendrite regrowth following pruning.
By integrating microfluidics, biophysics, and modeling on mouse embryos, this study demonstrates that fluid transport properties, specifically osmotic pressure differences driven by ion pumping, are the dominant regulators of blastocyst expansion dynamics, outweighing the influence of mechanical stresses.
This study demonstrates that in medaka embryos, robust morphogen patterning across varying temperatures is maintained because the system operates in a reaction-dominated regime, where temperature-induced changes in reaction kinetics and growth rates compensate for the relative stability of diffusion to rescale morphogen gradients.