Embryonic Development News and Research

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Embryonic development or embryogenesis is the process by which the embryo is formed and develops. It starts with the fertilization of the ovum, egg, which, after fertilization, is then called a zygote. The zygote undergoes rapid mitotic divisions, the formation of two exact genetic replicates of the original cell, with no significant growth (a process known as cleavage) and cellular differentiation, leading to development of an embryo.

New breakthrough in early mammalian embryo development

Pioneering work by a leading University of Nottingham scientist has helped reveal for the first time a vital process in the development of the early mammalian embryo.

3 Mar 2012

Study examines mRNA transcripts in the sperm of fruitflies and humans

It had long been assumed that the human sperm cell's mission in life ended once it had transferred its freight of parental DNA to the egg. More recently however, other components of sperm have been implicated in fertilization, and perhaps even in subsequent embryonic development.

1 Mar 2012

New research shows how motor neurones are produced

The quest for treatments for motor neurone disease, spinal cord injury and strokes could be helped by new research that shows how key cells are produced.

28 Feb 2012

New potential strategy for KRAS-mutant colon cancers

Researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center have identified a new potential strategy for treating colon tumors driven by mutations in the KRAS gene, which usually resist both conventional and targeted treatments.

17 Feb 2012

Scientists identify and describe molecular mechanism behind holoprosencephaly

Researchers of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have now identified and described a molecular mechanism underlying the most common malformation of the brain in humans. In holoprosencephaly (HPE), the forebrain (prosencephalon) is only incompletely formed.

14 Feb 2012

Researchers discover a startling feature of early brain development

Researchers at the Salk Institute have discovered a startling feature of early brain development that helps to explain how complex neuron wiring patterns are programmed using just a handful of critical genes. The findings, published February 3 in Cell, may help scientists develop new therapies for neurological disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and provide insight into certain cancers.

13 Feb 2012

SENP1 prevents STAT5 from becoming trapped in nucleus

When SUMO grips STAT5, a protein that activates genes, it blocks the healthy embryonic development of immune B cells and T cells unless its nemesis breaks the hold, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports today in Molecular Cell.

30 Jan 2012

GSA honors researchers, educators for distinguished service in the field of genetics

The Genetics Society of America (GSA) is pleased to announce the 2012 recipients of its five awards for distinguished service in the field of genetics. The recipients of these awards were nominated and selected by their colleagues.

19 Jan 2012

Scientists can now observe enhancer activity in real embryo

As an embryo develops, different genes are turned on in different cells, to form muscles, neurons and other bodily parts. Inside each cell's nucleus, genetic sequences known as enhancers act like remote controls, switching genes on and off. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, can now see - and predict - exactly when each remote control is itself activated, in a real embryo.

10 Jan 2012

Researchers identify gene required for proper development of mouse inner ear

Providing clues to deafness, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a gene that is required for proper development of the mouse inner ear.

4 Jan 2012

LincRNAs play key roles during embryonic brain development

Whitehead Institute scientists have identified conserved, long intervening non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) that play key roles during embryonic brain development in zebrafish. They also show that the human versions of the lincRNAs can substitute for the zebrafish versions, which implies that the functions of these non-coding RNAs have been retained in humans as well as fish.

23 Dec 2011

Researchers successfully treat severe congenital disorder in mouse model

Using a mouse model, Heidelberg University Hospital researchers have for the first time successfully treated a severe congenital disorder in which sugar metabolism is disturbed.

23 Dec 2011

Researchers discover how c-MYC facilitates tumor growth

Cancer cells are essentially immortal. The acquisition of an unlimited capacity to divide - the process of immortalization - is a central event in the genesis of tumors. Normally, cells are subject to stringent mechanisms which control their proliferation. Together these ensure that pre-malignant cells are induced to enter a senescent, non-dividing state or to undergo apoptosis, i.e. commit suicide.

22 Dec 2011

Researchers identify gene responsible for EMT transformation

Researchers at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) have identified the gene GATA 6 as responsible for epithelial cells -which group together and are static- losing adhesion and moving towards a new site.

16 Dec 2011

MDC professor to receive Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize

Professor Nikolaus Rajewsky of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin is to receive Germany's most prestigious research award, the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize.

15 Dec 2011

New substance can replace nucleoside thymidine in DNA biosynthesis

Interactions of biological macromolecules are the central bases of living systems. Biological macromolecules are synthesized in living cells by linking many small molecules together. Naturally occurring macromolecules include genetic materials (DNA) and proteins. A detailed understanding of the synthesis of these macromolecules in whole animals is a basic requirement for understanding biological systems, and for the development of new therapeutic strategies.

14 Dec 2011

“Gold standard” stem cells for clinical testing

British researchers claim to have created stem cells of a “gold standard” quality that could lead to a new wave of treatments for degenerative diseases. Taken from human embryos, they could be available to researchers before the end of next year for eventual use in clinical trials, The Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.

7 Dec 2011

Scientists understand how nervous system becomes wired during early development

Thanks to a new study of the retina, scientists at UC Santa Barbara have developed a greater understanding of how the nervous system becomes wired during early development.

7 Dec 2011

Researchers reveal how podocytes may regenerate themselves during normal kidney function

Damage to podocytes -- a specialized type of epithelial cell in the kidney -- occurs in more than 90 percent of all chronic kidney disease. Now researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have uncovered an unexpected pathway that reveals for the first time how these cells may regenerate and renew themselves during normal kidney function.

6 Dec 2011

Obesity maybe passed down from fathers to kids: Study

Australian researchers have found that the sperm of overweight fathers appears to carry a molecular signal that causes their offspring to inherit obesity. This may be more severe in female children and males they add.

5 Dec 2011