Embryo News and Research

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New method allows cells to be produced in shorter time and with greater success

A recent study published in the April 8 issue of Nature Chemical Biology improves on the "Cellular Reprogramming" method developed by Nobel Laureate in Medicine and Physiology Prof. Shinya Yamanaka, making it possible to produce cells in a considerably shorter time and with greater success. Yamanaka's method, which is referred to as "Cellular Reprogramming", obtains pluripotent cells, similar to the ones we know exist in the very early stages of the embryo

14 Jun 2019

Novel agent shown to have dual mechanism of action to eliminate cancer

Results from a study spearhead by researchers at the Vall d´Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), show that the blockade of the multi-functional cytokine LIF induces tumor-infiltrating T Cells to hone in on and eliminate cancer.

11 Jun 2019

Scientists successfully carry out gene editing in vivo

Scientists at Harvard University have successfully proven that stem cells can be edited inside the body, rather than in a petri dish.

5 Jun 2019

Gene-editing could shorten life instead of prolonging, suggests new study

In 2018, Chinese scientist He Jiankui defied the law and scientific consensus by boldly editing the CCR5 gene in a human embryo, expecting to confer lifelong HIV resistance. The pregnancy eventually ended in the birth of two baby girls. Now the experiment appears to have gone seriously wrong, perhaps shortening their lives.

4 Jun 2019

New fluorescent probe specifically labels microglia cells

Part of the immune system in the brain is made up of so-called microglia cells. Korean and Singaporean researchers have now developed a fluorescent probe that specifically labels this type of macrophage. The cells were visualized in cell culture and in the live brains of rodents.

29 May 2019

Are fruit fly 'avatars' the next step in personalized medicine?

Researchers have created fruit fly “avatars” that have helped to guide treatment for a man who had terminal colon cancer.

24 May 2019

Zebrafish embryo could help better understand the potential underpinnings of brain disorders

A close look at the rapidly developing zebrafish embryo is helping neuroscientists better understand the potential underpinnings of brain disorders, including autism and schizophrenia.

24 May 2019

Spatial configuration of the genome is not inherited, but set up during embryogenesis

The architecture of the DNA-protein complexes that make up the genome in each cell nucleus regulates the course of early embryonic development.

23 May 2019

Certain cancer drugs induce stem cell plasticity in colorectal cancer

Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and the Mannheim University Medical Center have now discovered that a certain group of cancer drugs (MEK Inhibitors) activates the cancer-promoting Wnt signaling pathway in colorectal cancer cells.

16 May 2019

Scientists develop new test to examine a drug's embryotoxicity in cell cultures

Medications have to be safe for mothers-to-be and for their unborn children. Before the authorities will approve a new drug, it must be tested in animal trials on pregnant rodents and, as a rule, pregnant rabbits.

14 May 2019

Biologists team up to identify underlying mechanism of yolk segregation from surrounding cytoplasm

The segregation of yolk from the surrounding cytoplasm in the very early fish embryo is a key process for the development of the fish larva.

10 May 2019

Researchers develop stem cell-based model to study neuron resilience and vulnerability in ALS

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed a stem cell-based model in order to study the resilience and vulnerability of neurons in the neurodegenerative disease ALS.

9 May 2019

Study finds no developmental differences in children conceived via ART

Parents with children conceived via IVF, IUI or using infertility medication can rest assured that treatment has no impact on childhood development.

8 May 2019

Skin-related stem cells could be used to regenerate vital part of the nervous system

Neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis affect millions of people worldwide and occur when parts of the nervous system lose function over time.

7 May 2019

Will gene-editing of human embryos ever be justifiable?

World-leading medical ethicist Professor Arthur Caplan has published a series of recommendations with the aim of addressing worldwide concerns over gene editing of human embryos.

30 Apr 2019

KZFPs play a key role in the regulation of human genome

The human genome is fascinating. Once predicted to contain about a hundred thousand protein-coding genes, it now seems that the number is closer to twenty thousand, and maybe less.

19 Apr 2019

Maternal age has no effect on IVF success, conclude researchers

Researchers have shown that maternal age may not influence the implantation potential of embryos in IVF or the likelihood of miscarriage.

18 Apr 2019

Rare gut condition is more predictable from individual's genetic makeup, study finds

Hirschsprung disease - a rare condition where the failure of gut nerves to develop before birth leads to impaired bowel contractions that prevent infants from passing stool - is more predictable from an individual's genetic makeup than previously envisioned.

11 Apr 2019

First baby born after robot-assisted uterine transplantation

A boy 48 centimeters long, weighing 2900 grams, is the first baby born after the technological shift in Gothenburg's world-leading research on uterine transplantation. The birth, with the planned cesarean delivery (C-section), took place on Monday April 8th and the whole family is doing fine.

9 Apr 2019

New imaging technology will improve understanding of embryonic development

Soon after conception, an embryo's circulatory system connects to that of its mother. Complications that occur at this critical time can result in miscarriage or birth defects with long-term chronic conditions.

9 Apr 2019