developmental-biology

The study, published in Volume 153, Issue 9 of the journal Development on May 14, 2026, by The Company of Biologists, is the first to precisely map endogenous UTY occupancy across the human genome and demonstrate that UTY remains functionally involved in transcriptional regulation during early human development.

Iron, iodine, the fatty acids in oily fish: feed them to a deficient teenager and, sometimes, their scores on a memory test or a nonverbal reasoning task tick upward. Sometimes. The frustrating word runs through the whole literature, because just as often nothing moves at all, and the supplement that worked in a Mexican village fails in a Dutch classroom. Researchers at Swansea University have sp…

Mice that contain cells with an added rat chromosome have been created by scientists. The next step is to try this with frozen elephant tissue – and if that works, the team will try it with frozen mammoths

BMC Biology is exploring how organelles and molecular assemblies contribute to intercellular communication, development, tissue dynamics, and disease—across all biological systems and model organisms.

A major new review led by Swansea University has highlighted growing evidence that diet in the early years of life may shape how well the brain develops, with effects that can still be seen in adolescence.

Endometriosis (EMs) is a prevalent, estrogen-dependent gynecological disorder characterized by the ectopic implantation and proliferation of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterine cavity, affecting approximately 10% of reproductive-aged women globally. Despite its high incidence, the exact pathogenesis of EMs remains incompletely elucidated, and current clinical treatments are often limited …

Nature Physics, Published online: 04 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03327-y DNA methylation regulates cell differentiation. It is now shown that methylation dynamics in the early embryo follow a universal scaling law, suggesting that physical constraints rather than molecular specifics shape cell fate.

PFDA, a PFAS “forever chemical,” can cause craniofacial birth defects by disrupting retinoic acid regulation during fetal development, revealing the first clear molecular mechanism behind the link. Researchers have long linked perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called “forever chemicals,” to serious birth defects. However, scientists have struggled to explain exactly how …

Even babies born without the virus’s notable physical symptoms may experience sensory, attachment and anxiety issues, according to a new study.

A newly discovered genetic clock acts as the master timekeeper for development, orchestrating crucial bursts of gene activity throughout a worm’s growth. When the clock is disrupted, development stops, offering fresh clues about how growth-related disorders may arise.

The editors at Communications Biology now invite mechanistic studies that advance understanding of epigenetic regulation in development using in vivo systems, organoids, or other model systems. Submissions are encouraged by 29 January 2027.

An international team of researchers from Europe and Australia will contribute to MICRO-NEST, a €6 million Horizon Europe project applying innovative approaches to identify markers of autism in children born before 37 weeks of gestation.

Canadian scientists have made a significant advance in understanding the mechanisms that enable embryos to properly form their limbs, thanks to new research led by Université de Montréal medical professor Marie Kmita at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM). In findings published in the journal PNAS, Kmita and her team highlight the crucial role of certain molecular systems that act as …

Nature Communications, Published online: 03 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-73891-7 Here the authors use induced DNA double strand breaks to investigate mechanisms leading to genome instability in human embryos. They find that acentric chromosome fragments fail to segregate, while centric fragments show attrition at the break site, and secondary breakage near the centromere thus explaining the …

Nature, Published online: 03 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10534-3 Worker bee construction behaviour actively engineers a physicochemical niche that is crucial for queen development in honey bees.

Nature, Published online: 03 June 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01580-y When considering what shapes animal development, factors such as genetics come to mind. For a queen bee, however, her special wax home also has a role.

Researchers have discovered a new way that brain plasticity is controlled in early life, offering insight into the little-understood phenomenon of critical-period closure.