Cell Biology News and Research

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Novel role for cholesterol inside the cell

Cholesterol, often condemned for its role in heart disease, has always been known to be essential for the health of the fatty membranes that surround individual cells.

7 Mar 2005

Good side to cholesterol in controlling cell signals

Cholesterol, often stigmatized for its role in heart disease, has long been known to be essential for the health of the fat-laden membranes that surround individual cells.

6 Mar 2005

Proteins link cellular aging and response to calorie restriction

In the March 3 issue of Nature, Johns Hopkins researchers report that two proteins best known for very different activities actually come together to turn the liver into a sugar-producing factory when food is scarce.

6 Mar 2005

Important player in the development of colon cancer

Cancer growth is a long, complex, multi-stage process involving a variety of different "players." This complexity is part of the difficulty facing cancer researchers. Meanwhile, each discovery or identification of a new "player," or previously unknown stage in the process, offers new opportunities for blocking the disease.

3 Mar 2005

Future diabetes drugs may target new protein interaction

2 Mar 2005

New findings on the regulation of cellular growth

A greatly increased synthesis of new proteins is one of the first and most important events that occur in both normal and tumour cells upon growth stimulation.

21 Feb 2005

What causes puberty to begin?

Puberty, that awkward phase when boys and girls are primed for their sexual reproductive years as men and women, appears to be triggered by the brain's own version of "It takes two to tango," whereby a signal literally gets turned on by a molecule that is produced by a gene aptly named KiSS-1.

31 Jan 2005

Local environment directly influences adult stem cell reservoirs

Using the common fruit fly, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered that an intricate set of signals released by stem cells' surroundings governs their maintenance.

26 Jan 2005

Priming embryonic stem cells to fulfill their promise

Bioengineering researchers at the University of California, San Diego have invented a process to help turn embryonic stem cells into the types of specialized cells being sought as possible treatments for dozens of human diseases and health conditions.

24 Jan 2005

Euro funding for diabetes and exercise research

Researchers at The University of Nottingham are among a network of European scientists who have been awarded €12.7 million (around £8.7 million) for a study into the relationship between lack of exercise and the development of diabetes — and the health benefits of regular exercise in its prevention and cure.

12 Jan 2005

Morse code for human cells

Morse code is a simple, effective and clear method of communication and now scientists believe that cells in our body may also be using patterns of signals to switch genes on and off. The discovery may have major implications for the pharmaceutical industry as the signalling molecules that are targeted by drugs may have more than one purpose.

10 Jan 2005

Exposure to the chemical BPA (Bisphenol A) stimulates prostate cancer cell growth

An estrogen-like chemical commonly used to synthesize plastic food containers has been shown to encourage the growth of a specific category of prostate cancer cell, potentially affecting the treatment efficacy for a subset of prostate cancers.

4 Jan 2005

Discovery shows how embryonic stem cells perform 'quality control' inspections

Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have found a fundamental mechanism used by embryonic stem cells to assure that genetically damaged stem cells do not divide and pass along the damage to daughter stem cells.

26 Dec 2004

Turning off cell suicide switch fails to stop prion damage

Researchers knew that prions, the misfolded proteins that cause mad cow disease and other brain disorders, were killing off a class of important brain cells in a transgenic mouse model. But when they found a way to rescue those cells, they were astonished to discover the mice still became sick.

21 Dec 2004

Stem cells use inflammatory signals to find injured tissue

A joint effort led by stem cell biologist Evan Y. Snyder, M.D., Ph.D., of The Burnham Institute, and Samia J. Khoury, M.D., of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, report data suggesting that stem cells use inflammatory signals to “know” where they must home.

20 Dec 2004

Newly discovered genetic defect might represent an important risk factor for major depression

A newly discovered genetic defect might represent an important risk factor for major depression, a condition which effects 20 million people in the U.S., according to Duke University Medical Center researchers.

13 Dec 2004

New research is allowing biochemists to understand a key hierarchy of protein interactions that occurs in DNA

"All cancers are marked by some form of DNA replication gone awry, so a basic understanding of DNA replication is of paramount importance to those designing cancer-fighting drugs,"

8 Dec 2004

Study on methylisothiazolinone in shampoo lacks a credible scientific basis

Consumers can rest assured that their cosmetic products, including shampoos, are safe. The abstract on Methylisothiazolinone (MI), presented at the Cell Biology 2004 meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology, lacks a credible scientific basis in suggesting that MI could be a safety issue for consumers using personal care products.

6 Dec 2004

Common ingredient in some shampoos (methylisothiazolinone) stunts developing neurons of rats

An antimicrobial agent found in some shampoos and hand creams and widely used in industrial settings inhibits the development of particular neuron structures that are essential for transmitting signals between cells.

6 Dec 2004

As mobile phone use rises, possibility of unseen biological impact is quietly troubling

Cell biologists are of two minds about the possible biological effects of mobile phone radiation. In the mid-1990s, studies describing possible pathological effects on tissues bombarded with low-level radio frequencies (RF) were first featured in the popular press and then discredited by scientists.

4 Dec 2004