Hedgehog Signaling News and Research

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Scientists find fast way to manipulate cell's cilia

Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan say they have found a fast way to manipulate a cell's cilia, the tiny, fingerlike protrusions that "feel" and sense their microscopic environment.

16 May 2018

Researchers identify six genes that predispose carriers to develop medulloblastoma

Researchers have identified six genes that predispose carriers to develop the brain tumor medulloblastoma and have used the discovery to craft genetic counseling and screening guidelines. The study appears today in the journal The Lancet Oncology.

10 May 2018

UTSW study reveals mechanisms underlying development of Sonic Hedgehog medulloblastoma

A delicate balance during brain development could have profound implications for understanding and treating medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor affecting children.

29 Mar 2018

Small tweak to mammal's DNA can cause significant physical changes, study finds

The difference between webbed toes and distinct digits may be the result of not just genetic information, but of how the genes regulate that information. Researchers at the National Institute of Genetics, Research Organization of Information and Systems in Japan found that a small, non-specific tweak to a mammal's DNA can potentially cause specific and significant physical changes.

27 Jan 2018

Oncologists discover cell type that gives rise to soft tissue cancer in children

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital oncologists have discovered the cell type that gives rise to rhabdomyosarcoma, the most prevalent soft tissue cancer in children.

8 Jan 2018

Study provides new insights into development of Sonic Hedgehog medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma is the most common type of solid brain tumor in children. Current treatments offer limited success and may leave patients with severe neurological side effects, including psychiatric disorders, growth retardation and cognitive impairment.

13 Dec 2017

Researchers identify way to prevent fat cells from growing larger

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a way to prevent fat cells from growing larger, a process that leads to weight gain and obesity. By activating a pathway in fat cells in mice, the researchers found they could feed the animals a high-fat diet without making them obese.

5 Dec 2017

USC researchers propose rules for making ribs

Scientists from the USC Stem Cell lab of Francesca Mariani recently shared a recipe for ribs, and it doesn't even require barbecue sauce.

29 Nov 2017

Sonic Hedgehog helps solve mysteries of Parkinson's disease

You may know Sonic Hedgehog as a Sega videogame character who saves us all from world domination. But within the realm of science, Sonic Hedgehog is also helping to solve the mysteries of Parkinson's Disease.

28 Oct 2017

Two studies set groundwork for new avenues to treat influenza and anthrax poisoning

Two recent studies led by biologists at the University of California San Diego have set the research groundwork for new avenues to treat influenza and anthrax poisoning

17 Oct 2017

New insights into rare-among-rare genetic bone disorder

I have been writing about conditions that cause out-of-place bone formation for over 10 years – since the discovery of the gene in 2006 for the rare bone disorder, FOP (fibrodysplasia ossificans progressive). But it was while interviewing geneticist Eileen Shore, PhD last spring about another bone disorder, progressive osseous heteroplasia, or POH, that it really hit me how much more rare POH is compared to FOP.

10 Oct 2017

Research identifies new gene fusions and mutations linked to GIST tumors

Researchers at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, with colleagues from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Fox Chase Cancer Center, have determined that a specific region of the small bowel, called the duodenal-jejunal flexure or DJF, shows a high frequency of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) with mutations of the NF1 gene

18 Aug 2017

Cellular antennae play key role in muscle-to-fat transformation

Like it or not, as we age, our muscle cells are slowly exchanged, one by one, for fat cells. This process quickens when we injure a muscle, and an extreme form of this process is also seen in muscle-wasting diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

13 Jul 2017

New research offers crucial step towards understanding cause of myopathy

Pioneering research using the tropical zebrafish could provide new insights into the genetic basis of myopathy, a type of human muscle disease.

6 Jul 2017

IRB Barcelona scientists reveal role of Dpp gene in wing growth of fruit flies

Researchers working in the Development and Growth Control Lab at IRB Barcelona reveal that the Dpp gene (BMP in humans) plays a double role in the structural organization and growth of the wings of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.

5 Jul 2017

Molecular biologists identify enzyme that activates and ‘supercharges’ cellular machinery

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital molecular biologists have identified an enzyme that activates and "supercharges" cellular machinery that controls how cells become specialized cells in the body.

7 Jun 2017

GW scientist awarded $1.7 million grant to understand mechanisms behind Hedgehog receptor

Among scientists specializing in the area, the mechanisms behind the signaling function of the Hedgehog (Hh) receptor pathway remain a mystery. Xiaoyen Zheng, Ph.D., assistant professor of anatomy and regenerative biology at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, who recently received a $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health and National Institute of General Medical Sciences, is determined to learn more about the Hh pathway.

4 May 2017