Developmental Biology

After 13 rapid divisions a fertilized fly egg consists of about 6,000 cells. They all look alike...

The calls of new-born mice draw the attention of their mother and enhance their chances of survival. A group of neuronal cells in the brain stem is essential for this innate process, reports a research team at the Max Delbrück Center in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Without these cells, the mice are mute.

Almost immediately after birth, mouse pups that are separated from their mother are able to make...

In mammalian embryos, crucial tissues are produced from a group of cells that are scarce and only exist for a very short time. Now, researchers have deciphered their molecular signature.

The career development for the foregut is rather limited, as it sometimes has to learn the hard way.

Starting today, we'll be presenting the work of individual research groups at the MDC. The series begins with a report on the research of developmental biologist Robert Zinzen. At the MDC, he investigates how the nervous system in fruit flies develops and how the corresponding genes are regulated. The junior research group leader joins a long-standing tradition at the campus in Buch – the famous geneticist Nikolay Timofeev-Ressovsky likewise used Drosophila as a model system.