Latest spotLight
spotLights is an interview series dedicated to highlighting exciting new preprints in the biological sciences and the early-career researchers driving the work.
Preprint highlights, selected by the biological community
Modes of natural selection on maternal and zygotic gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster embryos
Organoids reveal niche-specific mechanotransduction-guided human cortical patterning and cell fate acquisition.
Selected by
Microtubules sustain the fidelity of cellularization in a coenocytic relative of animals
Dysregulated Microglial Synaptic Engulfment in Diffuse Midline Glioma
Selected by
Profilin 1 maintains cell cycle fidelity to prevent unscheduled genome doubling and polyploidy in cancer
Selected by
Diversity and Spatial Segregation of TRP Channels in Choanoflagellates Provide Insight into the Evolutionary Origin of Animal Sensory Systems
Selected by
BAF complexes maintain accessibility at stimulus-responsive chromatin and are required for transcriptional stimulus responses
Selected by
Epigenome editing of human hematopoietic stem cells enables sustained and reversible thrombosis prevention
Selected by
The Aorta-Gonad-Mesonephros niche shapes the functions of yolk sac-derived macrophages involved in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell generation ex vivo
Selected by
20 August 2026
Zoha Sadaqat
Hydrostatic pressure shapes and canalizes semicircular canal morphology to ensure vestibular function
Selected by
20 August 2026
Sristilekha Nath
Fibroblasts impair muscle stem cell self-renewal via excessive fibronectin deposition in viscoelastic hydrogel co-cultures
Selected by
19 August 2026
Jonathan Townson
Modes of natural selection on maternal and zygotic gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster embryos
Selected by
19 August 2026
Girish Kale, preLights peer support
Organoids reveal niche-specific mechanotransduction-guided human cortical patterning and cell fate acquisition.
Selected by
19 August 2026
Kanishka Parashar
Matrix Rigidity Governs Switch-Like Oscillatory State Transitions of the Segmentation Clock in Isolated Presomitic Mesoderm Cells
Selected by
18 August 2026
Felipe Del Valle Batalla
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Introducing Preprint Highlights for Special Issues
The latest Journal of Cell Science (JCS) Special Issue, Cell Biology of the Nucleus, includes a companion article, Preprint highlights in nuclear cell biology, featuring a selection of recent preprints chosen and highlighted by members of our community. Although JCS has published Preprint Highlights articles previously, this collection represents a…
| Posted on | 8 July 2026 |
From preprint to publication: María Mariner spotlights ZIC2 dynamics during neural induction
A recent Short produced by preLighter María Mariner- Faulí highlights her recently published work in Nucleic Acids Research exploring how the transcription factor ZIC2 orchestrates neural cell fate during early development. Her research uncovers a striking dual role for ZIC2: first priming chromatin accessibility, then later acting as a precise…
| Posted on | 8 June 2026 |
‘Goodreads for Science’: How Paperstars reimagines the way science should be judged
Paperstars was developed to help refocus research culture on doing good science, rather than on where papers are published. Founded by Danny Schnitzler and Jenna Stephen, the platform aims to decouple research quality from journal prestige and give scientists a quick, constructive way to signal which papers really matter. Here,…
| Posted on | 23 April 2026 |
Developmental regulation: molecular and ecological niches
This conference was held at the Station Biologique de Roscoff (France) and brought together researchers exploring how diverse niche environments shape developmental processes across scales. Spanning topics from ecological and metabolic influences to signalling networks, mechanics and gene regulation, the meeting highlighted the interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic factors in controlling cell fate and tissue organisation. This preList gathers preprints discussed by speakers and poster presenters during the meeting. Please do get in touch at preLights@biologists.com if you notice any relevant preprints that we may have missed.
| List by | Ingrid Tsang |
preLighters’ choice – Handpicked DevBio preprints
preLighters with expertise across developmental and stem cell biology have nominated a few developmental biology (and related) preprints they’re excited about and explain in a few paragraph why. Concise preprint highlights, prepared by the preLighter community – a quick way to spot upcoming trends, new methods and fresh ideas.
| List by | Theodora Stougiannou et al. |
BSDB Spring Meeting: Molecules to Morphogenesis
The British Society for Developmental Biology (BSDB) Spring Meeting Molecules to Morphogenesis was held from 23–26 March 2026 at the University of Warwick (UK). This meeting brought together a vibrant community of researchers to discuss how molecular mechanisms are integrated across scales to drive morphogenesis, spanning diverse model systems and approaches. This preList contains preprints by presenters from the talk and poster sessions at the meeting. Please do get in touch at preLights@biologists.com if you notice any relevant preprints that we may have missed.
| List by | Ingrid Tsang |
Keystone Symposium on Stem Cell Models in Embryology 2026
The Keystone Symposium on Stem Cell Models in Embryology, 2026, was organised by Jun Wu (UT Southwestern), Jianping Fu (University of Michigan) and Miki Ebisuya (TU Dresden) and held at Asilomar Conference Grounds in California (US). The meeting discussed recent advances made in establishing stem-cell-based embryo models, what fundamental insights into developmental processes have been gleaned from them, as well as how they are beginning to be applied more widely. This prelist contains preprints by presenters at the talk and poster sessions at the conference, which our Reviews Editor in attendance spotted. Please do reach out to preLights@biologists.com if you notice any that we’ve missed.
| List by | Ingrid Tsang |
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