Developmental Biology Notes

Week by week pregnancy (Baby & body development with tips)

May 30, 2020 by Anupama Sapkota

Week-wise timeline of pregnancy (Week 1 to Week 40)

Disclaimer: The information presented on the website is for academic, study, and general information purposes only. The information and tips presented on the website must not be used for the purpose of medical advice or diagnosis or treatment. If you are not feeling well, please consult with your physician or doctor or qualified health care providers. Pregnancy is a period …

Zebrafish Development

January 22, 2020January 21, 2020 by Yashaswi Sharma

Zebrafish Development The teleost fish Danio rerio is commonly known as the zebrafish. It is a common small‐bodied tropical, freshwater species originally from South Asia. The fish is a part of the Cyprinidae family, which includes carps, true minnows, barbs and related genera. The Danio genus (formerly Brachydanio) contains more than 40 related species along with the zebrafish (Danio rerio). Zebrafish as a Vertebrate …

Implantation- Process, Events, Significance

January 31, 2020January 21, 2020 by Yashaswi Sharma

Implantation- Process, Events, Significance The term “implantation” is used to describe the process of attachment and invasion of the uterus endometrium by the blastocyst (conceptus) in placental animals. It begins at the end of the first week and is completed by the end of the second week of gestation. Implantation occurs in the endometrium of the uterus superior in the …

Heart Embryology- Development of the Heart

January 12, 2020 by Yashaswi Sharma

Heart Embryology- Development of the Heart The heart is a muscular organ located in the middle mediastinum that pumps blood through the circulatory system. It is one of the earliest differentiating and functioning organs in the human body. In human embryos, the heart begins to beat at about 22-23 days, with blood flow beginning in the 4th week. It begins very early …

Developmental Biology

January 11, 2020 by Yashaswi Sharma

What is Developmental Biology? It is the field of biology that studies the processes by which multicellular organisms grow and develop, controlled by their genes. It involves the study of mechanisms of development, differentiation, and growth in animals and plants at the molecular, cellular, genetic and evolutionary levels. It also encompasses the biology of regeneration, asexual reproduction, metamorphosis, and the growth and differentiation of stem cells in the adult …

Stages of Childbirth

January 8, 2020 by Yashaswi Sharma

Stages of Childbirth Labor is a physiologic process during which the fetus, its associated membranes, the umbilical cord, and the placenta are expelled from the uterus. During most of the months of pregnancy, the uterus undergoes periodic episodes of weak and slow rhythmical contractions called Braxton Hicks contractions. Contractions become progressively stronger toward the end of pregnancy; that start stretching …

Drosophila Development- Stages, Significance

January 7, 2020 by Yashaswi Sharma

Drosophila Development- Stages, Significance The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has been extensively studied for over a century as a model organism for genetic investigations. It also has many characteristics that make it an ideal organism for the study of animal development and behavior, neurobiology, and human genetic diseases and conditions. Image Source: biology.kenyon.edu Developmental Stages of Drosophila The development of Drosophila can be …

Development of Caenorhabditis elegans

January 4, 2020January 4, 2020 by Yashaswi Sharma

The nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans is a small (1 mm long), unsegmented, vermiform, free-living soil nematode. It is a relatively simple, and precisely structured organism, extensively used as a model organism for molecular and developmental biology. The body of an adult C. elegans hermaphrodite contains exactly 959 somatic cells, whose entire lineage has been traced through its transparent cuticle. Its genome has …

Blastocyst- Stages, Significance

January 13, 2020January 3, 2020 by Yashaswi Sharma

The preimplantation period of human embryo development is remarkable and characterized by successive changes in terms of genetic control, physiology, and morphology of the embryo. Blastocyst (Greek, blastos= sprout + cystos = cavity) is a distinctive stage of mammalian embryo development, characterized by a hollow cellular mass that forms in early development. It is an embryo that has developed for five to six days after …

DNA Methylation

January 10, 2020January 2, 2020 by Yashaswi Sharma

DNA methylation is a process by which methyl groups are added to the DNA molecule. It is an epigenetic mechanism that occurs by the addition of a methyl (-CH3) group to DNA, thereby often modifying the function of the genes and affecting gene expression. The most widely characterized DNA methylation process is the covalent addition of the methyl group at the 5-carbon of the cytosine ring resulting in …