Embryo News and Research

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Rac1 protein triggers growth of long 'legs' that could propel melanoma cells to spread

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered that a protein called Rac1 prompts pigment cells to sprout long 'legs' that could propel skin cancer cells, allowing them to spread, according to research published in Developmental Cell today.

15 Sep 2011

Single UV laser pulse simultaneously zaps away biological tissue at multiple points

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have developed a new technique that uses a single UV laser pulse to zap away biological tissue at multiple points simultaneously, a method that could help scientists study the mechanical forces at work as organisms grow and change shape.

14 Sep 2011

Pancreatic mesenchyme plays central role in the formation of mature beta cells

A somewhat mysterious soft tissue found in the fetus during early development in the womb plays a pivotal role in the formation of mature beta cells the sole source of the body's insulin. This discovery, made by scientists at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Texas A&M University, may lead to new ways of addressing Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

7 Sep 2011

Scientists discover highly conserved mechanism governing brain development

If you think today's political rhetoric is overheated, imagine what goes on inside a vertebrate embryo. There, two armies whose agendas are poles apart, engage in a battle with consequences much more dire than whether the economy will recover---- they are battling for whether you (or frogs or chickens) will have a forebrain.

3 Sep 2011

New fertilized cells narrowly avoid degenerating into fatal chaos

Research based at Princeton University has revealed that newly fertilized cells only narrowly avoid degenerating into fatal chaos. At the same time, scientists have discovered that embryos have acquired a mechanism to contain this dangerous instability, a finding that could help biologists unravel other mysteries about the first hours of life.

24 Aug 2011

Scientists show how scaling works in developing fruit fly wings

Weizmann Institute scientists have added a significant piece to the puzzle of scaling - how patterns stay in sync with size as an embryo or organism grows and develops. In a new study appearing in Current Biology, Institute scientists Profs.

24 Aug 2011

Semaphorin-PlexinD1 signaling pathway shows promise as therapeutic target for cancer treatment

In a new study published in the August 16th issue of Developmental Cell, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center identified a molecular mechanism that guarantees that new blood vessels form in the right place and with the proper abundance.

17 Aug 2011

Scientists gain new insight on role of stem cells in embryonic heart development

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have gained new insight into the delicate relationship between two proteins that, when out of balance, can prevent the normal development of stem cells in the heart and may also be important in some types of cancer.

16 Aug 2011

Researchers explain why vertebrate intestines are so predictably loopy

Between conception and birth, the human gut grows more than two meters long, looping and coiling within the tiny abdomen. Within a given species, the developing vertebrate gut always loops into the same formation-however, until now, it has not been clear why.

12 Aug 2011

Study: miR-200s play a paradoxical role in metastatic cancer development

While they may be small in size, a family of tiny molecules called microRNAs could potentially play a large role in the process of cancer metastasis, or the spread of cancer from one area of the body to another.

8 Aug 2011

Roadmap to overcome obstacles for using induced pluripotent stem cells

The possibility of developing stem cells from a patient's own skin and using them to treat conditions as diverse as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and cancer has generated tremendous excitement in the stem cell research community in recent years. Such therapies would avoid the controversial need for using stem cells derived from human embryos, and in theory, also bypass immunological problems inherent in using cells from one person to treat another.

5 Aug 2011

Nottingham animal scientist receives 'Marshall Medal' for fertility and reproduction study

A leading University of Nottingham animal scientist has been awarded one of the most prestigious medals in the field of animal reproductive biology.

3 Aug 2011

Federal judge upholds Obama rule on stem cell research

A U.S. judge Wednesday upheld the government rules that allow federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research that might lead to cures for deadly diseases affecting millions of Americans.

29 Jul 2011

Introducing maspin protein into tumor nucleus can stop growth and spread of cancer

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, one in four Canadians will die of cancer. This year alone, the disease will kill an estimated 75,000 people. With incidence rates on the rise, more cancer patients are facing grave prognoses.

29 Jul 2011

Mitochondrial genome undergoes random reorganisation during reprogramming

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) are truly talented multi-taskers. They can reproduce almost all cell types and thus offer great hope in the fight against diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. However, it would appear that their use is not entirely without risk: during the reprogramming of body cells into iPS cells, disease-causing mutations can creep into the genetic material.

28 Jul 2011

Dilemma of single vs. double embryo transfers

Elsevier announced the publication of several commentaries in the scientific journal Reproductive BioMedicine Online on the subject of how many embryos it is safe and proper to place in a uterus, and how best to regulate this decision. It is a dilemma faced by all patients anxiously caught between no pregnancies at all or facing the prospect of twins or triplets. In this difficult place it is often all too easy to think that the latter option must be the best. But is it?

28 Jul 2011

Invadopodia could help survival of cancer cells

Delicate, threadlike protrusions used by cancer cells when they invade other tissues in the body could also help them escape control mechanisms supposed to eliminate them, a research group led by led by Bradley Davidson in the University of Arizona's department of molecular and cellular biology reports in Nature Cell Biology.

28 Jul 2011

U.S. Judge approves federal funding for embryonic research

Federal funding of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research is now legal in the United States. Chief judge of the US District Court for the District of Columbia Royce Lamberth has ruled on the case Sherley et al. v. Sebelius, in favor of hESC research. This overturns an existing law that prohibits the government from funding research that destroys the embryo.

27 Jul 2011

Loss of critical male development gene causes male cells to become female

University of Minnesota Medical School and College of Biological Sciences researchers have made a key discovery showing that male sex must be maintained throughout life.

21 Jul 2011

Scientists find way to make copper-catalyzed click chemistry biocompatible

Biomolecular imaging can reveal a great deal of information about the inner workings of cells and one of the most attractive targets for imaging are glycans - sugars that are ubiquitous to living organisms and abundant on cell surfaces. Imaging a glycan requires that it be tagged or labeled. One of the best techniques for doing this is a technique called click chemistry.

19 Jul 2011