Method of the Year 2023: Methods for modeling development

In vitro embryo models supported by methods development in adjacent fields have revolutionized our understanding of embryogenesis.

Research with human embryos and embryo models, this year’s Method of the Year, can be fraught. In contrast, digital embryos could be studied, even perturbed, in computational what-happens-when experiments.

The creation of multiple stem-cell-derived models of mammalian embryogenesis is opening many new doors to study human development and brings a need for scientists to demonstrate responsible dialog over the associated ethical issues.

In vivo developmental atlases provide a crucial reference for the new class of stem-cell-derived human embryo models, helping accelerate insights into the mechanisms of human development.

I discuss how recent advancements in lineage tracing methods have enabled rare insight into the cell fate and trajectory during development.

Advancements in methods that enable in vitro culture of mammalian embryos have become an essential way of investigating mammalian early embryonic development and modeling developmental and pregnancy-related disorders. Here, we discuss the recent method development in this space and analyze current challenges and future directions.

Recent methodological advances in measurements of geometry and forces in the early embryo and its models are enabling a deeper understanding of the complex interplay of genetics, mechanics and geometry during development.

Increasingly advanced in vitro stem-cell-derived human embryo models raise novel ethical questions and shed a light on long-standing questions regarding research on human embryos.

Advances will enable proteome-scale structure determination in cells.

Large language models are learning the language of genomics.

High-resolution connectomics of the human brain is the next frontier in neuroscience.

Advances in profiling chromosome structure help reveal the regulatory roles of gene organization.

Developments in nanopore-based peptide detection and sequencing show promise of a breakthrough.

New twists on established methods and multimodal imaging are poised to bridge gaps between cellular and organismal imaging.

Spatially resolved multimodal omics offers a collective way to capture molecular information in complex tissues.

Artificial ECMs enable recapitulation of tissue microenvironments.