Chromosphaera perkinsii is a single-celled species discovered in 2017 in marine sediments around Hawaii. The first signs of its presence on Earth have been dated at over a billion years, well before ...

How did the characteristic pattern of embryonic cell divisions during animal development evolve? Analysis of the multicellular development of an organism related to animals now provides some answers.

Reptiles exhibit remarkable reproductive diversity, with many species giving birth to live young rather than laying eggs.

The curved shape of a zebrafish egg causes unequal cell divisions, creating larger cells near the animal pole and smaller ...

Researchers have discovered a key transition in early embryonic development is facilitated by decreasing levels of a viral protein inserted into the DNA of our early animal ancestors. Researchers at ...

The annual killifish lives in regions with extreme drought. A research group now reports that the early embryogenesis of killifish diverges from that of other species. Unlike other fish, their body ...

Over half of our genomes consists of thousands of remnants of ancient viral DNA, known as transposable elements, which are widespread across the tree of life. Once dismissed as the 'dark side' of the ...

The mystery of early embryonic communication is starting to be unraveled thanks to a new stem cell-based model.

What do the earliest stages of a pregnancy look like? Embryonic development has been extensively studied, but most of our knowledge of the earliest stages of a growing baby come from stationary ...

Humans tend to put our own intelligence on a pedestal. Our brains can do math, employ logic, explore abstractions and think critically. But we can’t claim a monopoly on thought. Among a variety of ...