Why achieving gender equality is of fundamental importance to improve the health and well-being of future generations: a DOHaD perspective.

Despite progress in gender equality, women continue to be disadvantaged compared with men. Worldwide, women are more often confronted with poverty, violence, and mental health problems, and they have less access to food and education. All these factors do not only affect women themselves, but also have a negative impact on the child's early environment and impair its early development, thereby reducing the health and well-being of future generations. Framing gender equality as a women's issue fails to highlight the importance of gender equality for the health and well-being of the next generation. As a scientific community investigating early human development and health, we have failed to fully recognize and underscore the importance of gender equality in achieving the best possible start for every child. If women and men had equal rights and opportunities, their children would be more likely to reach their full potential which would improve the health and well-being of future generations. Our studies and interventions have not fully taken into account the complexity of gender inequality and women's disadvantaged positions in society. We need better insight into the complex adaptive interactions between various societal and human factors contributing to gender inequality and find approaches that take this complexity into account. If we want DOHaD science to have societal impact, we should strive beyond gender equality for gender equity and help women achieve equal rights and opportunities. We need to work with public health professionals, human rights activists, and policymakers to gauge the importance of gender equality. After all, gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but also a necessary foundation for healthier future generations.

Reverse-engineering growth and form in Heidelberg.

The EMBO-EMBL Symposium 'Synthetic Morphogenesis: From Gene Circuits to Tissue Architecture' was held in Heidelberg, Germany, in March 2019, with 150 participants seeking to reverse-engineer embryogenesis, emphasizing quantitative simulation and the use of synthetic systems to test models. This highly dynamic, interdisciplinary mix of quantitative developmental genetics, bioengineering, synthetic biology and artificial life aimed to reveal how evolution exploits physical forces and genetics to implement the cell- and tissue-level decision-making required for complex morphogenesis.

The second biennial meeting of the Pan-American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology.

Evodevo is concerned with understanding how phenotypes develop and evolve, how organismal diversity is generated and maintained, and how evolutionary innovations originate. The second Pan-American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology (PASEDB) meeting in Calgary, Canada, showcased a great variety of species and study systems, and a variety of approaches to address these questions. Although there were, like at the first PASEDB meeting, many developmental genetic and genomic studies, much of the work moved beyond comparative developmental genetics toward more integrative studies that seek explanations at different levels of the organismal hierarchy.

Rebuilding a broken heart: lessons from developmental and regenerative biology.

In May 2016, the annual Weinstein Cardiovascular Development and Regeneration Conference was held in Durham, North Carolina, USA. The meeting assembled leading investigators, junior scientists and trainees from around the world to discuss developmental and regenerative biological approaches to understanding the etiology of congenital heart defects and the repair of diseased cardiac tissue. In this Meeting Review, we present several of the major themes that were discussed throughout the meeting and highlight the depth and range of research currently being performed to uncover the causes of human cardiac diseases and develop potential therapies.

Lucha por sobrevivir, diabetes tipo 2 y obesidad. Respuesta del autor / Fight for survival: type 2 diabetes and obesity. Author's reply

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