Developmental Biology News and Research

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Hedgehog signaling is critical for maintenance of the adult coronary vasculature

A set of promising new anticancer agents could have unforeseen risks in individuals with heart disease, suggests research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

23 Jun 2008

New cancer stem cell identified behind metastatic tumors

The molecular profile of cancer stem cells that initiate metastatic colon tumors is significantly different from those responsible for primary tumors, according to new research from a team at Weill Cornell Medical College.

28 May 2008

Discovery provides hope for patients with pancreatic cancer

This week researchers in the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Oregon Stem Cell Center and the OHSU Digestive Health Center are shining a new ray of hope on patients with pancreatic cancer. They've developed new reagents, or antibodies, that can recognize this often lethal disease. This important discovery may one day lead to earlier detection and treatment.

22 May 2008

Yeast cells used to screen for potential Lou Gehrig's disease drugs

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine are developing a novel approach to screen for drugs to combat neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, using yeast cells.

17 Apr 2008

Beetle genome opens the door to developmental research

The whole DNA sequence of the red flour beetle, familiar to many as an unwelcome visitor to the kitchen flour jar, has been published in Nature .

28 Mar 2008

microRNA shown to reduce lung cancer growth

A small RNA molecule, known as let-7 microRNA (miRNA), substantially reduced cancer growth in multiple mouse models of lung cancer, according to work by researchers at Yale University and Asuragen, Inc., published in the journal Cell Cycle.

24 Mar 2008

Role for microRNAs in limb regeneration

In the March 15th issue of G&D, Dr. Kenneth Poss (Duke University Medical Center) and colleagues reveal that microRNA depletion is a necessary step in tissue regeneration - a discovery with interesting implications for their use in regenerative medicine.

17 Mar 2008

New understanding of how big molecules bind will lead to better drugs, synthetic organic materials

Biological and medical research is on the threshold of a new era based on better understanding of how large organic molecules bind together and recognise each other.

22 Feb 2008

Major milestone in the culturing of human blood stem cells

Patients with leukemia, certain autoimmune diseases and genetic defects such as sickle-cell anemia can be treated with blood stem cells either from a donor's bone marrow or from cord blood - but the supply of effective stem cells often runs short.

17 Feb 2008

Scientists reprogram human skin cells into embryonic stem cells

UCLA stem cell scientists have reprogrammed human skin cells into cells with the same unlimited properties as embryonic stem cells without using embryos or eggs.

12 Feb 2008

Massive brain imaging project awarded Keck Foundation grant

Tantalizing treasures of neural knowledge that lie deep in the brain of the common fruit fly are one step closer to being laid bare, now that a team of six Stanford researchers has been awarded a $1.3 million medical research grant by the W. M. Keck Foundation.

4 Feb 2008

Why your fertility cells must have 'radio silence'

Researchers in Kobe, Japan, and Montreal, Canada, have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism which causes embryonic germ cells which later develop into sperm or ova to go through a period of "transcriptional silence," during which information from the cell's DNA cannot be copied.

31 Jan 2008

Stem-cell transplantation improves muscles in MD animal model

Using embryonic stem cells from mice, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have prompted the growth of healthy - and more importantly, functioning - muscle cells in mice afflicted with a human model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

21 Jan 2008

Two proteins called BERT and ERNI interact in embryos to control brain development

Scientists at University College London have discovered how two proteins called BERT and ERNI interact in embryos to control when different organ systems in the body start to form, deepening our understanding of the development of the brain and nervous system and expanding our knowledge of stem cell behavior.

9 Jan 2008

How molecular muscles help cells divide

Time-lapse videos and computer simulations provide the first concrete molecular explanation of how a cell flexes tiny muscle-like structures to pinch itself into two daughter cells at the end of each cell division, according to a report in Science Express.

17 Dec 2007

Cell trafficking finding may aid drug development

With findings highlighted on a recent cover of Developmental Cell , researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City have shed important new light on key trafficking mechanisms within epithelial cells. Epithelial cells line the outside of nearly all organs.

12 Dec 2007

Protein-dependent "switch" regulates intracellular trafficking in epithelial cells

12 Dec 2007

More good Gleevec news

Gleevec, the targeted cancer pill that has saved more than 100,000 lives, now is saving more children with a dire leukemia, as well as preventing disease progression with long term use in adults with chronic myeloid leukemia.

10 Dec 2007

Blood clotting protein fibrin plays a role in rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers at Cincinnati Children's have issued the first study showing that a protein normally involved in blood clotting (fibrin), also plays an important role in the inflammatory response and development of rheumatoid arthritis.

19 Nov 2007

New understanding of gestational diabetes

A protein in the pancreas is giving researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine their first chance at cracking the code that determines how diabetes develops during pregnancy, a finding that could lead to new treatments for all forms of diabetes.

2 Nov 2007