Developmental Biology Protocols

Book excerpt: Developmental biology is one of the most exciting and fast-growing fields today. In part, this is so because the subject matter deals with the innately fascinating biological events—changes in form, structure, and function of the org- ism. The other reason for much of the excitement in developmental biology is that the field has truly become the unifying melting pot of biology, and provides a framework that integrates anatomy, physiology, genetics, biochemistry, and cellular and mole- lar biology, as well as evolutionary biology. No longer is the study of embryonic development merely “embryology.” In fact, development biology has produced - portant paradigms for both basic and clinical biomedical sciences alike. Although modern developmental biology has its roots in “experimental emb- ology” and the even more classical “chemical embryology,” the recent explosive and remarkable advances in developmental biology are critically linked to the advent of the “cellular and molecular biology revolution.” The impressive arsenal of expe- mental and analytical tools derived from cell and molecular biology, which promise to continue to expand, together with the exponentially developing sophistication in fu- tional imaging and information technologies, guarantee that the study of the devel- ing embryo will contribute one of the most captivating areas of biological research in the next millennium.