One aim of developmental biology is to learn how a healthy body
arises from the genetic material of an organism, also known as a
genome. Another goal is to understand why development sometimes
goes wrong. Mutations may produce organisms with harmless, or
potentially beneficial, characteristics such as extra fingers.
Other times they can lead to fatal developmental defects, or
problems that make it impossible for someone to lead a healthy
life. They are also the reason that new species can arise. Over
the past few years, research has drawn together development,
medicine, and several other branches of biology in a new way of
thinking about organisms that many people are still not familiar
with. Aimed at high school students and non scientists
interested in this timely topic, Developmental Biology is a
guided tour of humankind's embryological journey. It examines
not only the embryo but also the triumphs and tribulations of
biologists, from the earliest history of embryology to the
latest theories in this fascin