Embryo News and Research

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BMA response to new guidance on embryo selection

The BMA believes that it is right to use advances in medical technology to reduce suffering and impairment and we therefore welcome today's decision to extend the criteria for embryo selection.

10 May 2006

MicroCT-based virtual histology

Utah and Texas researchers combined miniature medical CT scans with high-tech computer methods to produce detailed three-dimensional images of mouse embryos - an efficient new method to test the safety of medicines and learn how mutant genes cause birth defects or cancer.

8 May 2006

Transplanted stem cells hoped to be able to regenerate damaged heart muscle in first heart attack victims

Rush cardiologists are hoping that transplanted stem cells can regenerate damaged heart muscle in those who experience a first heart attack. The study involves an intravenous infusion of adult mesenchymal stem cells from healthy donor bone marrow that might possibly reverse damage to heart tissue.

28 Apr 2006

Studies indicate stem cells are flexible enough to become any cell in the body

Two studies in the April 21, 2006 Cell report new details of the "genetic program" that affords embryonic stem cells the flexibility to give rise to any cell type in the body. Both groups identified mechanisms by which the embryonic stem cells of mice or humans keep from going down any one particular developmental path--that of muscle or nervous tissue, for example--while remaining "poised for activation."

26 Apr 2006

Studies indicate stem cells are flexible enough to become any cell in the body

26 Apr 2006

Cholesterol takes major role in the development of fingers and toes

Although cholesterol has a bad rap as the sticky, fatty substance responsible for clogging arteries, Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers recently found that the attachment of cholesterol to an important developmental protein controls the development of fingers and toes in mice. Without cholesterol, mice developed extra digits, as well as digits in the wrong places.

26 Apr 2006

Scientists gain greater understanding of how embryos differentiate left from right

Researchers at the Forsyth Institute have discovered a new mechanism responsible for early left/right patterning, the process by which organs locate themselves on the left or right side of the body.

19 Apr 2006

Active ingredient in soy may explain why Asians have lower rates of obesity and cancer

A single nutrient found in soy products elicits changes in gene behavior that permanently reduce an embryo's risk of becoming obese later in life, according to an animal study at Duke University Medical Center.

13 Apr 2006

Researchers develop new tool to find gene control regions

Researchers at the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins have invented a cost-effective and highly efficient way of analyzing what many have termed "junk" DNA and identified regions critical for controlling gene function.

28 Mar 2006

Increase in Vitamin E tied to fewer in utero deaths

Manipulating the in utero environment may alter the onset of cancers that appear later in the lives of mammals, according to a new University of Toronto study published in the journal Carcinogenesis.

23 Mar 2006

Combining old with new could resolve fertility problems

Many women with fertility problems could have a significantly better chance of having a baby if modern IVF techniques are combined with more traditional surgical interventions, according to a leading fertility specialist.

From Sheffield Hallam University 21 Mar 2006

Genetic switch that turns off an oxygen-poor cell's combustion engine - finding has potential to limit toxic molecules

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered a previously unrecognized role played by the gene HIF-1 as it helps cell survive when a lack of oxygen decreases production of an energy-rich molecule called ATP and increases production of toxic molecules.

9 Mar 2006

Cornell develops technique for making living, functional cells glow

The development gives researchers insights into how hearts develop in living mouse embryos and could improve our understanding of irregular heartbeats, known as arrhythmias, as well as open doors to observing cellular processes to better understand basic physiology and disease.

9 Mar 2006

Scientists reprogramme malignant melanoma cells to become normal pigment cells

Scientists at Northwestern University and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have reprogrammed malignant melanoma cells to become normal melanocytes, or pigment cells, a development that may hold promise in treating of one of the deadliest forms of cancer.

1 Mar 2006

The legal and ethical issues associated with human embryonic stem cell research

"As my university gears up for human embryonic stem cell research," says Stanford law professor Henry Greely in an Essay for PLoS Medicine, "it finds that a host of ethical and legal questions still need to be answered."

1 Mar 2006

Stress in early pregnancy can cause miscarriage

According to a team of researchers in the U.S., women who exhibit signs of stress are three times more likely to miscarry during the first three weeks of the pregnancy.

22 Feb 2006

Cancer researchers find evolutionary change that occurred in a key developmental signalling pathway

Cancer researchers at the University of Helsinki, in trying to find a novel tumor suppressor gene, instead found an important evolutionary change that occurred in a key developmental signalling pathway. The finding suggests a potential mechanism for evolution of complex intercellular signalling pathways.

9 Feb 2006

Researchers find new mechanism potentially explaining evolution of signalling pathways

7 Feb 2006

Scientists have determined the detailed structure of an essential piece of the telomerase enzyme

Scientists have determined the detailed structure of an essential piece of the telomerase enzyme, an important contributor to the vast majority of human cancers. Understanding the physical shape of the protein has led to a better understanding of how it acts to immortalize cells - and should help scientists design broadly effective cancer drugs.

5 Feb 2006

60 new genes controlled by regulatory sequences

Researchers worldwide are seeking to define ancient sections of our genetic code that may soon be as important to medical science as genes.

2 Feb 2006

Embryo News and Research

BMA response to new guidance on embryo selection

MicroCT-based virtual histology

Transplanted stem cells hoped to be able to regenerate damaged heart muscle in first heart attack victims

Studies indicate stem cells are flexible enough to become any cell in the body

Studies indicate stem cells are flexible enough to become any cell in the body

Cholesterol takes major role in the development of fingers and toes

Scientists gain greater understanding of how embryos differentiate left from right

Active ingredient in soy may explain why Asians have lower rates of obesity and cancer

Researchers develop new tool to find gene control regions

Increase in Vitamin E tied to fewer in utero deaths

Combining old with new could resolve fertility problems

Genetic switch that turns off an oxygen-poor cell's combustion engine - finding has potential to limit toxic molecules

Cornell develops technique for making living, functional cells glow

Scientists reprogramme malignant melanoma cells to become normal pigment cells

The legal and ethical issues associated with human embryonic stem cell research

Stress in early pregnancy can cause miscarriage

Cancer researchers find evolutionary change that occurred in a key developmental signalling pathway

Researchers find new mechanism potentially explaining evolution of signalling pathways

Scientists have determined the detailed structure of an essential piece of the telomerase enzyme

60 new genes controlled by regulatory sequences

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