The eye is an organ of such remarkable complexity and apparently flawless design that it presents a challenge to both evolutionary biologists trying to explain its phylogenetic origins, and developmental biologists hoping to understand its formation during ontogeny. Since the discovery that the transcription factor Pax6 plays a crucial role in specifying the eye throughout the animal kingdom, both groups of biologists have been converging on the conserved mechanisms behind eye formation. Their latest meeting was at the Instituto Juan March in Madrid, at a workshop organized by Walter Gehring(Biozentrum, Basel, Switzerland) and Emili Saló (Universitat de Barcelona, Spain), entitled `The genetic control of eye development and its evolutionary implications'. The exchange of ideas provided some new insights into the construction and history of the eye.
History of our journals
As our publisher, The Company of Biologists, turns 100 years old, read about Development’s journey and highlights from some its first issues, and explore the history of each of our sister journals: Journal of Cell Science, Journal of Experimental Biology, Disease Models & Mechanisms and Biology Open.
Call for papers – Lifelong Development: the Maintenance, Regeneration and Plasticity of Tissues
Development invites you to submit your latest research to our upcoming special issue – Lifelong Development: the Maintenance, Regeneration and Plasticity of Tissues. This issue will be coordinated by Guest Editors Meritxell Huch (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Germany) and Mansi Srivastava (Harvard University and Museum of Comparative Zoology, USA), working alongside our team of academic Editors. Submit your articles by 15 May 2025.
A case for broadening our view of mechanism in developmental biology
In this Perspective, B. Duygu Özpolat and colleagues survey researchers on their views on what it takes to infer mechanism in developmental biology. They examine what factors shape our idea of what we mean by ‘mechanism’ and suggest a path forward that embraces a broad outlook on the diversity of studies that advance knowledge in our field.
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