Cell Biology News and Research

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Scientists step closer to understanding the genetic pathway involved in the development of hearing

New research findings, published online in the journal Nature Genetics, detail how sensory hair cells in the ear - the cells largely responsible for hearing - develop unique shapes that enable the perception of sound.

22 Aug 2005

Asymmetric cell divisions are essential for skin development

It took almost 10 years for Elaine Fuchs, Ph.D., a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Rockefeller University, to find a postdoctoral fellow who shared her curiosity for the direction of cell divisions in the skin.

18 Aug 2005

C. elegans has similar virus-fighting mechanism as humans and can be used in research

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have discovered that a simple worm, called C. elegans, makes an excellent experimental host for studying some of the most virulent viruses that infect humans.

17 Aug 2005

Biochemical switch that affects how neurons fire in a part of the brain associated with learning

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a biochemical switch that affects how neurons fire in a part of the brain associated with learning, findings that may aid in understanding schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease.

17 Aug 2005

Gene therapy success for the treatment of congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD) in mice

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh report the first study to achieve success with gene therapy for the treatment of congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD) in mice, demonstrating that the formidable scientific challenges that have cast doubt on gene therapy ever being feasible for children with muscular dystrophy can be overcome.

15 Aug 2005

Protein that protects the body from tissue damage also increases the risk of tumors

You win some, you lose some. A protein that protects the body from tissue damage also increases the risk of tumors, according to a study conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Moderate reduction of the protein level protects against tumor formation but increases susceptibility to tissue injury.

11 Aug 2005

Key step in the production of beta-amyloid

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have defined a key step in the production of beta-amyloid, a short protein that is thought to be responsible for the development of Alzheimer's disease. Understanding this step may aid in the discovery of drugs that could help block the disease from developing.

11 Aug 2005

Cells direct membrane traffic by channel width

For a glycerol molecule, a measly angstrom's difference in diameter is a road-closed sign: You can't squeeze through unless you are a sleek, water-molecule-sized sports car, say scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

11 Aug 2005

Placental tissue could feasibly provide an abundant source of cells with the same potential to treat diseases as embryonic stem cells

Routinely discarded as medical waste, placental tissue could feasibly provide an abundant source of cells with the same potential to treat diseases and regenerate tissues as their more controversial counterparts, embryonic stem cells, suggests a University of Pittsburgh study to be published in the journal Stem Cells and available now as an early online publication in Stem Cells Express.

10 Aug 2005

MicroRNAs play an important role in regulating oogenesis

Researchers at Northwestern University and Carnegie Mellon University have found that a recently described class of molecules called microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in regulating oogenesis, the process by which females make eggs.

9 Aug 2005

Scientists identify protein that may inhibit cellular movement

Scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a protein that may inhibit cellular movement, or migration.

8 Aug 2005

Discovery may lead to new therapies for leukemia

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that a protein called NF-Ya activates several genes known to regulate the development of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), or blood-producing stem cells, in bone marrow.

2 Aug 2005

Aging profile of the human brain differs greatly from that seen in chimpanzees

Researchers have found that the two primary areas of the human brain appear to age in radically different ways: The cortex used in higher-level thought undergoes more extensive changes with age than the cerebellum, which regulates basic processes such as heartbeat, breathing and balance.

2 Aug 2005

Drugs with similar chemical attributes as Ecstasy might offer useful alternatives to current therapies for Parkinson's disease

Amphetamines, including the drug popularly known as Ecstasy, can reverse the symptoms of Parkinson's disease in mice with an acute form of the condition, according to new research at Duke University Medical Center.

2 Aug 2005

Arf gene prevents excessive growth of blood vessels in the developing eye

A gene better known for its role in preventing cancer also plays a key role in the developing embryo, where the gene prevents excessive growth of blood vessels, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

2 Aug 2005

New understanding of cell movement may yield ways to brake cancer's spread

From birth until death, our cells migrate: nerve cells make their vital connections, embryonic cells move to the proper places to form organs, immune cells zero in to destroy pathogenic organisms, and cancer cells metastasize, spreading deadly disease through the body. Scientists studying these migrations didn't know how cells determined where to go. Until now.

1 Aug 2005

Action of dopamine may be particularly important for understanding psychiatric conditions

Duke University Medical Center researchers have discovered a new mechanism by which chronically high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine exert their effects on the brain.

28 Jul 2005

Single protein regulates secretion levels - helps stem cells become secretory cells

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that a single protein regulates secretion levels in the fruit fly's salivary gland and its skin-like outer layer.

26 Jul 2005

Scientists have identified the first genetic mutations that cause the aorta to widen, tear and rupture

Finding biological markers that flag aneurysm, a bulging of the aorta that leads to dissection, a lengthwise separation of tissues in the artery wall, is critically important for early diagnosis.

25 Jul 2005

New compound ruboxistaurin may decrease vision loss in diabete

A multicenter international study chaired by a Joslin Diabetes Center investigator and reported in the July issue of the American Diabetes Association's journal Diabetes brings hopeful news to the 18 million people in the United States -- and millions more worldwide -- with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

15 Jul 2005

Cell Biology News and Research

Scientists step closer to understanding the genetic pathway involved in the development of hearing

Asymmetric cell divisions are essential for skin development

C. elegans has similar virus-fighting mechanism as humans and can be used in research

Biochemical switch that affects how neurons fire in a part of the brain associated with learning

Gene therapy success for the treatment of congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD) in mice

Protein that protects the body from tissue damage also increases the risk of tumors

Key step in the production of beta-amyloid

Cells direct membrane traffic by channel width

Placental tissue could feasibly provide an abundant source of cells with the same potential to treat diseases as embryonic stem cells

MicroRNAs play an important role in regulating oogenesis

Scientists identify protein that may inhibit cellular movement

Discovery may lead to new therapies for leukemia

Aging profile of the human brain differs greatly from that seen in chimpanzees

Drugs with similar chemical attributes as Ecstasy might offer useful alternatives to current therapies for Parkinson's disease

Arf gene prevents excessive growth of blood vessels in the developing eye

New understanding of cell movement may yield ways to brake cancer's spread

Action of dopamine may be particularly important for understanding psychiatric conditions

Single protein regulates secretion levels - helps stem cells become secretory cells

Scientists have identified the first genetic mutations that cause the aorta to widen, tear and rupture

New compound ruboxistaurin may decrease vision loss in diabete

Event Guide: 3rd Annual TRP Supply Chain & Manufacturing Summit eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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