developmental-biology

Studying the developmental origins of sociomoral cognition is challenging because preverbal infants have limited means to express their thoughts through verbal communication or overt action. Developmental research has therefore relied heavily on infants' looking behavior, often treating gaze as an indicator of expectation or attention. While these approaches have yielded substantial insights into…

The results show that effects of adversity are not solely cumulative and the type of adversity experienced may be uniquely related to mitochondrial function, the researchers said

New research reveals that while infants' brains process musical structure as early as three months old, their bodies take much longer to catch up. Structured physical movement to music doesn't emerge until closer to their first birthday.

Adolescence is a vulnerable neurodevelopmental period between childhood and adulthood. Binge drinking is common during this period of development. New research using rodents has found that adolescent binge drinking can repress neurons in the brain so they operate less normally because the genes required for their neurotransmitter function have been turned off. These results and others will be sha…

Despite centuries of study, scientists are still finding new details and even overlooked structures within the human body. As researchers explore anatomical differences between individuals, it’s becoming clear that the body is far more complex—and less fully understood—than textbooks suggest.

A century after one of developmental biology’s most influential experiments, researchers have revisited the concept of the embryonic “organizer” in one of the oldest animal lineages alive today. A tiny cluster of cells in an embryo can act like a construction manager for an entire body. It helps determine which end becomes the head, which [...]

Nature Communications, Published online: 20 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74712-7 This study suggests that higher-dose trigger-day human chorionic gonadotropin during assisted reproduction may be associated with DNA methylation and early neurodevelopment.

Using single-nucleus multi-omic sequencing, diverse autism spectrum disorder-linked gene mutations converge on transient, stage-specific disruptions in early brain development, and highlight sex-specific gene expression alterations.

Background The lungs of squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes) are highly diverse, exhibiting single chambers, multiple chambers, transitional forms with two to three chambers, along with a suite of other anatomical features, including finger-like epithelial projections into the body cavity known as diverticulae. During embryonic development of the simple, sac-like lungs of anoles, the epithelium…

Nature Communications, Published online: 19 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74596-7 The mechanisms that coordinate cell polarity and the cell cycle are incompletely understood. Here, the authors show that defects in polarity trigger an adaptive response that reconfigures cyclin-dependent kinase activity both temporally and spatially to correct polarity defects.

BackgroundChromatin-modifying systems regulate transcriptional programs essential for human neurodevelopment through dynamic modification of histones, DNA, and higher-order chromatin architecture. Pathogenic variants affecting these systems give rise to chromatinopathies, a heterogeneous group of disorders characterised by consistent neurological features, including intellectual disability, devel…

As cats get older, they may need a little extra help. Changes to the environment and making time for play and enrichment can make a big difference.

The experiences we face early in life may leave their marks on our health in ways that echo across decades-and even across the entire body.

This Collection invites research on genetic and environmental determinants of early childhood autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions.

Nature, Published online: 18 June 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01910-0 Embryonic ‘organizer cells’ can tell embryos of various phyla what kind of body to build.

The mother–fetus/infant dyad constitutes a uniquely asymmetric biological and psychological system whose co-evolutionary dynamics we propose are most coherently understood within the Active Inference Framework (AIF). We hypothesize that the development of attachment styles emerges from the progressive construction of a generative model in the fetus and infant, shaped by the precision and content …

Thomas M. Jessel, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, explores the human brain, the sophisticated product of 500 million years of vertebrate evolution, assembled during just nine months of embryonic development. The functions encoded by its trillion nerve cells direct all human behavior. Yet the brain is a biological organ made from the same building blocks […]

New field research examines the morning stress hormone patterns of Palestinian boys living in conflict zones, revealing how chronic political violence shapes early childhood biology and daily psychological strain.

Hundreds of genes have been linked to autism, yet the precise molecular and cellular mechanisms behind it remain largely unclear.