Advocating developmental biology
We are pleased to announce a series of review articles aiming to advocate for the wider importance of developmental biology.
The first set of articles will set out to answer the question “What has developmental biology ever done for us?” with a series of case studies linking particular discoveries in developmental biology to their wider scientific and societal impact. To complement this historical angle, the second set of articles will look forward and explore “What are the big open questions in the field?” We want to explore the fundamental unanswered questions in developmental biology and propose how we might start addressing them.
By providing a rationale for why we do developmental biology and where it is taking us, we hope that these articles will help to advocate for our discipline, providing a useful resource for developmental biology educators and advocates, and also help current researchers to develop their elevator pitches. Read our editorial for more information about the project.
The articles will be free to read and we welcome suggestions for topics readers find particularly compelling - send any inquiries to [email protected]. As the articles get published they will be added to this page.
What has developmental biology ever done for us?
Wnt signalling: conquering complexity
Katrin Wiese, Roel Nusse and Renée van Amerongen
From Drosophila segmentation to human cancer therapy
Philip W. Ingham
The diverse neural crest: from embryology to human pathology
Heather C. Etchevers, Elisabeth Dupin, Nicole M. Le Douarin
Human in vitro fertilisation and developmental biology: a mutually influential history
Martin Johnson
What are the big open questions in the field?
What does time mean in development?
Miki Ebisuya and James Briscoe
How can developmental biology help feed a growing population?
Scott A. Boden and Lars Østergaard
Can laboratory model systems instruct human limb regeneration?
Ben D. Cox, Maximina H. Yun and Kenneth D. Poss
Reclaiming Warburg: using developmental biology to gain insight into human metabolic diseases
Daniela Drummond-Barbosa, Jason M. Tennessen
Associated articles
Introductory Editorial: Advocating developmental biology
Aidan Maartens, Andreas Prokop, Katherine Brown, Olivier Pourquié
Improving the visibility of developmental biology: time for induction and specification
Leonard Zon
Inclusion and exclusion in the history of developmental biology
Nick Hopwood
Advocacy for developmental biology
Andreas Prokop's article on the Node discusses the reasons for advocacy and shares various resources.