Sample Articles

Information for Authors

EDITOR

Rocky S. Tuan

National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

The journey of the vertebrate embryo through development is the critical stage from which birth defects derive. Understanding the full range of activities in the developing embryo is therefore central to deciphering the mechanisms responsible for birth defects. The field of developmental biology has indeed become one of the most fascinating and most rapidly evolving biomedical research areas. Empowered by the analytical prowess of biochemistry, cell biology, and molecular genetics, developmental biologists have made tremendous inroads into mapping the sequence of events of embryogenesis, and the mechanisms regulating these events. This new journal, Birth Defects Research Part C: Embryo Today: Reviews (BDRC), aims to provide scientists, clinicians, educators, and students in the biomedical sciences with state-of-the-art review articles that capture the exciting advances and growth in the field of developmental biology.

The unifying theme is the "embryo" as an integrative system for scientific investigation and Embryo Today will focus on reviews that critically evaluate knowledge in embryology and developmental biology in a multidisciplinary manner, as well as technical advances that have a significant impact on the study of embryology and development. The goal of the journal is to present a coherent synthesis of basic principles and concepts and the practice of embryology, targeted for a broad audience consisting of developmental biologists, biomedical scientists, and clinicians. The special emphasis will be on topics that cover embryology, abnormal development, and embryology and development as it relates to clinical medicine.

The journal will begin by adopting a topical and systems approach to presenting the development of the embryo. The topic for the inaugural issue is "Cardiovascular Development". Just like its subject matter, it is fully intended that the journal will continue to develop and evolve, both in format and content, to reflect and report the dynamic development of the field.