Cells & Development

Very happy that the first article from my postdoc work in the Tomancak lab is now published @PNAS! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/.... We studied the self-organization of actin in aggregates made from Hydra cells. Thread below (1/9)

Can someone please add some beats 🎵🎵 to this video, we beg!

This is so cool! A good way for early career scientists to put your name out there and network too! Beautiful images are always eye catching. Register and we would love to see them too at ISDB!

✨Development meets design in this embryonic chameleon lung 🫁 🦎. Smooth muscle swirls 🟣 and branching tips and cartilage 🟢 come together in reptilian lung morphogenesis. Image taken by @drkatiegoodwin.bsky.social 🔬🧪
#FluorescenceFriday #DevBio

Got stunning fluorescence microscopy images? 🌈🔬 SDB wants to feature YOUR work for #FluorescenceFriday! We highlight images from SDB members with a short description and the image creators 📸. Fill out the form to be featured: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Mechanochemical coupling of cell shape and organ function optimizes heart size and contractile efficiency in zebrafish Andrews et al. demonstrate that multiscale feedback between mechanical and chemical cues builds a functional heart to support zebrafish embryonic life. Cell recruitment and organ-scale forces drive tr...

Thrilled to bits to see our latest work online in Dev Cell! 🥳

We wanted to know how cells build functional organs with precision🫀🫁📏 Here we show how coupling of cell shape and organ function fine tunes the form and contractile power of the developing #zebrafish heart 1/n

tinyurl.com/cell-stretch

Out now! Our very first paper@crick.ac.uk, an impressive feat by @tobyandrews.bsky.social where we show how a developing heart grows and scales up its morphological complexity to keep beating...an excellent summary below ⬇️
www.cell.com/developmenta...

Interfacing biophysical and molecular mechanisms of animal homeostasis and repair The control of animal homeostasis and repair has been studied for decades, mostly from a molecular and biochemical perspective. Recent research shows that biophysical factors, such as mechanical forc…

Our interdisciplinary @embo.org @biologists.bsky.social workshop on Biophysical and Molecular Mechanisms of Animal Homeostasis and Repair will take place in beautiful Haining, China, 6-10 April 2026. Exciting line up of international speakers! Register now: meetings.embo.org/event/26-hom...

1000% YES !!!
Also works for cancer, immunology and every other cellular process: differentiation, adhesion, migration, proliferation, survival etc. Cell biology is cool, but it's like studying plants without their soil. I wish more studies would try to put their findings in perspective of the ECM

Interesting review about the role of ECM in development!

Tissue bending through localized BM growth or dissolution.

Alteration in tissue morphology by intrinsic stresses in an assembling BM network.

Branching morphogenesis driven by localized deposition of interstitial matrix.

Asymmetric tissue expansion through anisotropic BM remodeling.

Maybe it's time we rethink the idea that development is a cell centric process? In this beautiful review, María-del-Carmen and @stramerlab.bsky.social discussed how the ECM underlies and influences many morphogenesis processes from wing unfolding to mammary gland development.
doi.org/10.1016/j.cd...

Tissue bending through localized BM growth or dissolution.

Alteration in tissue morphology by intrinsic stresses in an assembling BM network.

Branching morphogenesis driven by localized deposition of interstitial matrix.

Asymmetric tissue expansion through anisotropic BM remodeling.

Maybe it's time we rethink the idea that development is a cell centric process? In this beautiful review, María-del-Carmen and @stramerlab.bsky.social discussed how the ECM underlies and influences many morphogenesis processes from wing unfolding to mammary gland development.
doi.org/10.1016/j.cd...

Cryosection immunofluorescence image from a Xenopus embryo showing the neural crest, fibronectin, and DAPI.

A cryosection immunofluorescence image of a Xenopus embryo showing fibronectin in 🔵, DAPI in ⚪, and Sox9 - a marker of the neural crest in 🟠.

Image credit: Kai Weissenbruch from UCL
#FluorescenceFriday #devbio

Normal meiotic progression in Akap14ins/Y mice.

Akap14ins/Y sperm counts, morphology and motility analysis.

Normal spermatogenesis in Akap14ins/Y mice.

AKAP14 is of those genes that is highly expressed, yet when knocked down by 60% even in a mouse model shows no apparent effects on the organism, no effects on meiotic progression, sperm count, motility and morphology. How weird?Check out this intriguing paper here: doi.org/10.1016/j.cd...

A comparison of the signalling interactions between the organiser/organiser-derived tissues and the neural plate across vertebrate model organisms. Diagrams depict each embryo in 3D, sliced along the sagittal plane.

Mechanical interactions that promote temporal coordination between axial and paraxial tissues during body axis elongation.

Continuing with the theme of organiser biology, Alexandra Neaverson and Benjamin Steventon discussed in this beautifully illustrated review the idea that "neural specification and patterning occur before organiser formation" in Xenopus, zebrafish, chick, and mouse.
doi.org/10.1016/j.cd...

Gastruloids as an emerging technology to study the Primitive Streak

The organizer and the modular organization of the mouse embryo

Topological relationship between Spemann-Mangold Organizer and mouse organizers.

Check out this insightful review by Alfonso Martinez Arias et al where they show how studying the organiser in amphibian embryos helps us understand the development of the body axis in mammalians, and the use of gastruloids to study the Primitive Streak.
doi.org/10.1016/j.cd...

This comprehensive review by Manuel Zúniga-García and Juan Rafael Riesgo-Escovar focuses on the evolutionarily conserved fos gene family in different species of invertebrates (🪰,🪱). The authors argued that fos genes were coopted from stress responses to development. doi.org/10.1016/j.cd...

Our June cover is here. This image shows SALL1 protein (green) in a slice section of mouse embryonic external genitalia. New research shows that SALL1 is involved in tubulin acetylation and is important for urethral masculinization.
doi.org/10.1016/j.cd...

🎉We’re grateful for the support of @isdb.bsky.social and @cellsdev.bsky.social, who will sponsor the ISDB-C&D Lecture by Gage Crump at the #V4SDB2025 Meeting!
#devbio
👉Join us in Slovakia this September: v4sdb2025.img.cas.cz
👉Registration deadline: 31 July 2025
event.img.cas.cz/registration...

Quintay alumni meet-up at the #ICDB2025 meeting in Puerto Rico 🇵🇷
Always great to meet with the Latin American community working in developmental biology around the world 😃
@devbioquintay.bsky.social
@mayorlab.bsky.social

🫶 @isdb.bsky.social @devbioquintay.bsky.social @mayorlab.bsky.social

A plate made out of wood, with de society for dev bio logo, 2025 Trainee Science Communication Award, my name, and "In recognition of extraordinary science communication and outreach efforts as a trainee member of the Society"

Extremely honored to receive this prize from @socdevbio.bsky.social, which recognizes not only my love for developmental biology, but the extremely online I am 🧪 (protect science, protect people, viva la dev bio!)

One our postdocs, Kai Weißenbruch, just won the Prize for Best Talk at the Cambridge-London Cell Motility conference for his talk on Frictiotaxis - how cells migrate toward regions of higher friction. This video shows a cell repolarises itself in a uniform friction channel. doi.org/10.1038/s414...

A fantastic review written by Jan Stundl and Marianne E. Bronner on the development of the neural crest. The paper explores how neural crest interacts with their tissue, the genes involved in their development, and their differentiation identity. Check it out:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Workshop: MECHANOBIOLOGY OF TISSUE MORPHOGENESIS AND DISEASE/B165 An outstanding question in biology is how cells coordinate their behaviours. The fundamental importance of collective cell behaviours is best appreciated when considering a developing embryo. In an em...

Register to this super interesting workshop in mechanobiology of tissue morphogenesis and disease. A wide variety of model organisms will be discussed, from fly to frogs to mice. Register now.
www.unia.es/estudios-y-a...

Rosettes are cell-scale structures found in epithelial tissue. This unique structure allows for a dynamic bio-mechanical adaptation during development and morphogenesis. In this review, Neahring et al describes the interesting facets of rosettes found in various organs.
doi.org/10.1016/j.cd...

We are very proud to announce @johannaivaska.bsky.social as the recipient of the Biennial Finnish Science Award, given by the Finnish Ministry of Education & Culture. Johanna was described as a distinguished researcher with pioneering work in cell biology. Warmest congrats from all of us, boss!

A new review exploring the concept of a living substrate in the context of collective migration in development, where living cells serve as substrate for other cells to migrate on.

1/I'm excited to share my review with CSHL exploring the concept of neighbouring cells as substrate to guide the collective migration of other cells. We tend to focus on cell-matrix interactions, but forget that within tissue, cell-cell interactions exist.
cshperspectives.cshlp.org/content/earl...

The deadline to registre for the 20th International Congress of Developmental Biology in Sheraton Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR is on the 21st of May.
The meeting is co-chaired by Marianne Bronner, Carole LaBonne, and Juan Riesgo. More information here:
www.sdbonline.org/2025icdb