Cell Biology News and Research

RSS

Research clarifies origin of mammalian network of lymphatic vessels

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital settled a century-old debate on the origin of the mammalian lymphatic vasculature - the network of vessels and capillaries critical to various essential housekeeping functions in the body.

29 Oct 2007

piRNAs play an important role in controlling gene function

A study by researchers at the Yale Stem Cell Center for the first time demonstrates that piRNAs, a recently discovered class of tiny RNAs, play an important role in controlling gene function, it was reported this week in Nature.

25 Oct 2007

Public access policy for NIH-funded research set to become law

The U.S. Senate last night approved the FY2008 Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations Bill (S.1710), including a provision that directs the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to strengthen its Public Access Policy by requiring rather than requesting participation by researchers.

24 Oct 2007

Scientists uncover how hormones achieve their effects

The first quantitative study of protein complexes that transmit pheromone signals in living yeast cells sheds light on a crucial signalling process also found in humans.

22 Oct 2007

Transgenics sped up

A new method of constructing artificial plant chromosomes from small rings of naturally occurring plant DNA can be used to transport multiple genes at once into embryonic plants where they are expressed, duplicated as plant cells divide, and passed on to the next generation -- a long-term goal for those interested in improving agricultural productivity.

19 Oct 2007

A tumor-blocking protein may be key in developing deadly form of pancreatic cancer

A tumor-blocking protein previously implicated in prostate and breast cancer development may also be behind the most aggressive type of pancreatic cancer. Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia have discovered that the protein pp32 – which normally applies the brakes on a cancer-causing gene – is missing in an aggressive form of pancreatic cancer.

12 Oct 2007

UF researchers test stem cell therapy for heart patients

University of Florida doctors on Wednesday (Oct. 3) treated their first patient enrolled in a new study designed to test whether injecting stem cells into the heart helps restore blood flow to the organ by prompting new blood vessels to grow.

4 Oct 2007

Improvements in cancer survival in Northern Ireland

There have been improvements in cancer survival in Northern Ireland between 1993 and 2004, according to a new report from the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR), launched at Queen’s today.

4 Oct 2007

How Candida albicans transforms from its normally benign form into life-threatening form

Researchers at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's (A*STAR) Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) have discovered new molecular mechanisms that provide a more detailed understanding of how the normally benign Dr. Jekyll-like fungus known as Candida albicans transforms into a serious and often life-threatening Mr. Hyde-like form.

4 Oct 2007

New findings on cholesterol metabolism in the brain and Alzheimer's disease

Although the causes of Alzheimer's disease are not completely understood, amyloid-beta (A-beta) is widely considered a likely culprit - the "sticky" protein clumps into plaques thought to harm brain cells.

4 Oct 2007

The origin of mammalian network of lymphatic vessels

4 Oct 2007

Leptin plays a major role in islet cell growth and insulin secretion

A new Joslin-led study has shown that leptin, a hormone known mainly for regulating appetite control and energy metabolism, plays a major role in islet cell growth and insulin secretion.

2 Oct 2007

Gene that lowers cell stress could protect against Parkinson's disease

The discovery of a relationship between two cell enzymes and their role in keeping the cell's energy generating machinery working smoothly could provide a new target for development of therapies for Parkinson's disease (PD).

2 Oct 2007

Gene that lowers cell stress could protect against Parkinson’s disease

1 Oct 2007

Variation in drug responses can be analyzed by studying simpler organisms like plants

While prescription medications work successfully to cure an ailment in some people, in others the same dose of the same drug can cause an adverse reaction or no response at all.

27 Sep 2007

Discovery of structure in malaria with potential for a vaccine target

Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet (KI) and the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control (SMI) have identified the biochemical mechanism behind the adhesive protein that give rise to particularly serious malaria in children.

25 Sep 2007