Tips for success: Networking is not a bad word.

To many scientists, the word "networking" sounds like an enterprise only suitable for those who run in circles with the business elite. However in reality, most scientists depend on networking to generate and maintain professional relationships, disseminate and gather information, and to climb the professional ladder. Presented here are tips from three seasoned professors, Kathy Cheah, PhD, Susan Mango, PhD, and Randall Moon, PhD, who describe what networking means to them, why it is important, and how they go about doing it.

Primer and interviews: promises and realities of induced pluripotent stem cells.

In 2006, Yamanaka's group announced they had discovered the proverbial "fountain of youth" for human cells, forever changing the field of stem cell research. After misexpressing within them a cocktail of four genes, adult somatic cells revert into an embryonic stem cell (ESC)-like state. These so-called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can differentiate into a wide variety of cell types, seemingly bypassing the need for politically charged ESCs.

Tips for success: getting more done in less time.

Whether a student or full professor, it seems there is never enough time in the day to get everything done. Yet as a scientist rises through the ranks, somehow she is expected to do even more. Excellent time management skills enable one to work more effectively, and to accomplish more in less time.

Primer and interviews: The dynamic stem cell niche.

A stem cell niche is a microenvironment that supports self-renewal of a population of stem cells, and their production of differentiated cells. While the definition evokes images of a stem cell Shangri-La-where a serene stem cell pool nestles within a niche that shelters and sustains it-the reality is much more tumultuous. Niches are subject to an ever-changing maelstrom of environmental factors, the ravages of old age, and the sly tactics of disease.

Primer and interviews: molecular mechanisms of morphological evolution.

The beauty of the developing embryo, and the awe that it inspires, lure many scientists into the field of developmental biology. What compels cells to divide, migrate, and morph into a being with a complex body plan? Evolutionary developmental biologists hold similar fascinations, with dynamics that take place on a grander timescale. How do phenotypic traits diverge over evolutionary time? This primer illustrates how a deep understanding of the basic principles that underlie developmental biology have changed how scientists think about the evolution of body form.

Tips for success: giving an effective research talk.

For many scientists, their working life can be charted as a series of talks: lab meetings, journal clubs, research seminars, and job talks. Based on the sheer volume of attended and given talks, one might think that nearly any scientist should be an expert speaker. As we are all painfully aware, that's not so.

Tips for success: fostering a good mentoring relationship.

A mentor can mean the difference between a mentoree's failure and success. Yet mentoring is more than an altruistic venture. A good mentor will be more likely to recruit and retain strong student and postdoctoral candidates, and cultivate productive personnel.

Primer and interviews: Diverse connections between primary cilia and Hedgehog signaling.

On the surface, the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway and primary cilia make strange bedfellows. Hh is a dynamic regulator of a myriad of developmental processes, ranging from spinal cord and limb patterning to lung branching morphogenesis. By contrast, immotile primary cilia were long considered ancestral holdovers with no known function.

Science communications: publishing a scientific paper.

Publications are the lifeblood of academic science. They are essential to the scientific community as records of research completed, building blocks for new research, and templates for new ways of thinking. Publications are also essential for individual job security.

Primer and interview: epithelial to mesenchymal transition. [Interview by Julie Kiefer].

A complex body plan would not be possible without the evolution of the epithelial to mesenchymal (EMT) transition. This primer introduces the hallmarks of EMT, molecular mechanisms underlying the process, and its role in development and disease. Accompanying the primer is a discussion of current topics in the field with EMT experts Angela Nieto, Ph.

Pushing the envelope: developmental regulation by the nuclear lamina.

A surprising realization in recent years was that proteins of the nuclear lamina directly regulate gene expression and cell differentiation. Presented here are examples that highlight the diverse roles these proteins can inhabit. Accompanying the primer is a discussion of current topics in the field with nuclear lamina experts Colin Stewart, Ph.

Is your "gene of interest" interesting?

Has a large-scale screen turned up a potential gene-of-interest that you know nothing about? Your computer is a portal to a wealth of information that can save you valuable time and resources. Freely available data can help to determine whether a particular gene is worthy of further research, and what direction that research should take. Presented here are approaches to mining the Internet, including searching popular model organism databases.

Back to basics: Sox genes.

Sox genes are indispensable for multiple aspects of development. This primer briefly describes shared properties of the Sox gene family, and five well-characterized examples of vertebrate developmental mechanisms governed by Sox gene subgroups: testis development, central nervous system neurogenesis, oligodendrocyte development, chondrogenesis, and neural crest cell development. Also featured is an interview about current issues in the field with experts Jonas Muhr, Ph.

Epigenetics in development.

It has become increasingly evident in recent years that development is under epigenetic control. Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene function that occur independently of alterations to primary DNA sequence. The best-studied epigenetic modifications are DNA methylation, and changes in chromatin structure by histone modifications, and histone exchange.

PHA-4/FoxA cooperates with TAM-1/TRIM to regulate cell fate restriction in the C. elegans foregut.

A key question in development is how pluripotent progenitors are progressively restricted to acquire specific cell fates. Here we investigate how embryonic blastomeres in C. elegans develop into foregut (pharynx) cells in response to the selector gene PHA-4/FoxA.

Emerging developmental model systems.

This primer briefly describes four emerging animal model systems that promise to provide insights into specific aspects of developmental biology. Highlighted here are two relatively well-characterized model systems, Gasterosteus aculeatus (three-spine stickleback fish) and Schmidtea mediterranea (planarian), as well as two organisms on which research is in its infancy, Carollia perspicillata (short-tailed fruit bat), and the basal metazoan, Trichoplax adhaerens. Scientists who helped develop these species into model systems discuss why they chose to research these animals.

microRNAs under the microscope.

Once regarded as a biological anomaly, microRNAs (miRNAs) have since been recognized as a prevalent RNA species that regulates a wide array of biological processes, from fat storage and insulin secretion, to apoptosis and cell growth. Recent studies show that miRNAs are expressed at precise times and locations in embryonic development. Moreover, disruption of miRNA processing triggers widespread developmental defects.

Pro-neural factors and neurogenesis.

The role of pro-neural factors in specifying neuronal progenitors and in promoting neuronal differentiation is conserved from Drosophila to vertebrates. This primer discusses the basic functions of pro-neural factors in neurogenesis, mechanisms of pro-neural factor function, and models for how pro-neural factors generate neuronal subtypes. The primer also features a dialog about current topics and future directions in the field between two experts in neurogenesis: Andrew Jarman, Ph.

Planar cell polarity: heading in the right direction.

Epithelial cells are patterned not only along their apical-basolateral axis, but also along the plane of the epithelial sheet; the latter event is regulated by the planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway. PCP regulates diverse outputs, such as the distal placement of a hair in all cells of the Drosophila wing, and convergent extension movements during gastrulation in the vertebrate embryo. This primer describes the molecular mechanisms that initiate and establish PCP, as well as biochemical pathways that translate PCP signaling to cell type-specific patterning events.

The somite segmentation clock: it takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

This primer describes molecular mechanisms critical for somite segmentation clock function. In addition, two investigators of the segmentation clock, Olivier Pourquie, and Yun-Jin Jiang, give their perspectives on current research and on the future of the field.

The Tbx-files: the truth is out there.

T-box factors are critical regulators of embryonic development and have been implicated in several human diseases. This primer describes the basics of how T-box factors work and features a discussion of the state of T-box gene research with three experts in the field.

Molecular mechanisms of early gut organogenesis: a primer on development of the digestive tract.

Creating an organ poses unique challenges in embryogenesis, including establishing an organ primordium and coordinating development of different tissues in the organ. The digestive tract (gut) is a complex organ system, posing the interesting question of how the development of a series of organs is coordinated to establish an organ system with a common function. Although gut development has been the focus of much research, the molecular mechanisms that regulate these events are just beginning to be understood.