Embryonic development is defined by the hierarchical dynamical process that translates genetic information (genotype) into a spatial gene expression pattern (phenotype) providing the positional information for the correct unfolding of the organism. The nature and evolutionary implications of genotype-phenotype mapping still remain key topics in evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo). We ...

This paper discusses current efforts to produce databases of gene expression for the major model embryos used in developmental biology. The efforts to build these resources were motivated by the need for immediate internet access to all types of research data, and the production of these databases is a major and new challenge for bioinformatics. Thus far bioinformatics has mainly been concerned...

The cholinergic system plays a crucial role in nervous function with important effects on developmental processes, cognition, attention, motivation, reward, learning, and memory. Nicotine, the reinforcing component of tobacco e-cigarettes, directly acts by targeting nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) brain. Activation nAChRs leads to multitude immediate long-lasting specific cellular po...