A newly discovered genetic clock acts as the body’s developmental timekeeper, coordinating the bursts of gene activity needed for growth. Scientists found that when this clock breaks down, development comes to a halt. Think about a train sitting at a station. Passengers have boarded, conductors are checking tickets, and everything is ready to go. But [...]

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…

Leopard Gecko, _Eublepharis macularius_

Researchers discover leopard gecko produces females at cooler incubation temperatures and mostly males at warmer ones. This clear sex-determination pattern of leopard gecko has established it as a key model for studying environmental effects on development.

Credit: Professor Shinichi Miyagawa from Tokyo University of Science, Japan.

New study…

New research shows that brain tissue stiffness helps regulate chemical signals during development. The discovery highlights an unexpected connection between physical forces and the brain’s wiring process. For decades, scientists have understood that chemical signals, including gradients of signaling molecules, play a central role in directing how tissues grow and organize. More recently, research…

The secret to how our brains grew may be hidden in our fingers before we are even born. One of the defining features of human evolution is the steady expansion of our brains. New findings suggest this growth may be partly linked to higher levels of estrogen before birth. Surprisingly, a visible clue may lie [...]

Researchers have resolved a 50-year-old scientific mystery by identifying the molecular mechanism that allows tissues to regenerate after severe damage. The discovery could help guide future treatments aimed at reducing the risk of cancer returning. Many tissues in the body, including the skin and other epithelial layers that line organs, have a remarkable ability to [...]

A high-fat ketogenic diet may help shield developing brains from the lasting impact of stress before birth. Scientists report that young rats placed on a ketogenic diet—a diet with high fat and low carbohydrates—were largely protected from the long-term consequences of stress experienced before birth. The findings were presented at the ECNP conference in Amsterdam [...]

A snail that regrows its eyes may hold the genetic clues to restoring human sight. Human eyes are intricate organs that cannot regrow once damaged. Surprisingly, they share key structural features with the eyes of a freshwater apple snail, an animal capable of fully regenerating its vision. Alice Accorsi, assistant professor of molecular and cellular [...]