Developmental Biology News and Research

RSS

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) therapy: an interview with Charles A. Nicolette, Ph.D., CSO of Argos Therapeutics

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma is a devastating disease. There are roughly 20-25,000 new cases per year in the United States and it is increasing for some reason.

12 Feb 2013

Bioelectric signals can identify cells that are likely to develop into tumors

Biologists at Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences have discovered a bioelectric signal that can identify cells that are likely to develop into tumors. The researchers also found that they could lower the incidence of cancerous cells by manipulating the electrical charge across cells' membranes.

1 Feb 2013

Salk Institute to establish Helmsley Center for Genomic Medicine

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies has received a $42 million gift-the largest in the Institute's history-to establish the Helmsley Center for Genomic Medicine (HCGM), a research center dedicated to decoding the common genetic factors underlying many complex chronic human diseases.

23 Jan 2013

Scientists compare neuronal network connections in 2 worm species

Researchers in the group of Ralf Sommer at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tuebingen, Germany, have for the first time been able to identify neuronal correlates of behaviour by comparing maps of synaptic connectivity, or "connectomes", between two species with different behaviour.

19 Jan 2013

Over-expression of NEK2 in cancer cells significantly enhances drug resistance

Increased NEK2 gene expression linked to increased drug resistance, faster cancer growth, and poorer patient outcome - The finding may improved diagnostic and prognostic tools for cancer care and could lead to improved cancer therapies

16 Jan 2013

Aggressive breast cancer’s metastasis molecular switch identified

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered the molecular switch that allows aggressive triple negative breast cancer cells to grow the amoeba-like protrusions they need to crawl away from a primary tumor and metastasize throughout the body. Their findings, published in Cancer Cell, suggest a novel approach for developing agents to treat cancer once it has spread.

15 Jan 2013

UCSB scientists publish groundbreaking study results of Type 2 diabetes

While legions of medical researchers have been looking to understand the genetic basis of disease and how mutations may affect human health, a group of biomedical researchers at UC Santa Barbara is studying the metabolism of cells and their surrounding tissue, to ferret out ways in which certain diseases begin.

7 Jan 2013

American Association of Anatomist announces winners of Young Investigator Awards

The American Association of Anatomist's (AAA) Young Investigator Awards combine three long-standing AAA awards-Bensley, Herrick, and Mossman-with the Morphological Sciences Award, all recognizing investigators in the early stages of their careers who have made important contributions to biomedical science through their research in cell/molecular biology, developmental biology, comparative neuroanatomy, or the morphological sciences.

12 Dec 2012

Scientists identify two genetic risk factors for sagittal craniosynostosis

Seattle Children's Research Institute, together with an international team of scientists and clinicians from 22 other institutions, have identified two genetic risk factors for the most common form of non-syndromic craniosynostosis, a birth defect in which the bony plates of an infant's skull prematurely fuse. The condition is known as sagittal craniosynostosis and often results in an abnormal head shape and facial features.

20 Nov 2012

Pachytene piRNAs play an essential role in protecting post-meiotic germ cells

Passing one's genes on to the next generation is a mark of evolutionary success. So it makes sense that the body would work to ensure that the genes the next generation inherits are exact replicas of the originals.

16 Nov 2012

Scientists find new way to unlock cells' destinies

Scientists have discovered that breaking a biological signaling system in an embryo allows them to change the destiny of a cell.

3 Nov 2012

Four transcription factor genes control processes related to heart and head muscle formation

A group of researchers in Israel, the United States and other nations have made important advances in the rapidly-expanding field of "regenerative medicine," outlining for the first time connections in genetic regulation that normally prevent birth defects in heart and facial muscles.

30 Oct 2012

Researchers identify genes that control regeneration of the intestine in planarian flatworms

Researchers report in the journal Developmental Cell that they have identified genes that control growth and regeneration of the intestine in the freshwater planarian Schmidtea mediterranea.

26 Oct 2012

mTor molecule plays a significant role in myeloid differentiation

University of Illinois cell and developmental Biology professor Fei Wang and colleagues have created a new technique to study how myeloids, a type of blood stem cell, become the white blood cells important for immune system defense against infections and tissue damage.

26 Oct 2012

ISSCR selects Cell Press to publish 'Stem Cell Reports'

Cell Press is delighted to announce that it has been chosen by the International Society for Stem Cell Research, ISSCR, to publish its new Open Access journal 'Stem Cell Reports'.

25 Oct 2012

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin molecule makes mice resistant to skin cancer

A molecule involved in asthma and allergies has now been shown to make mice resistant to skin cancer, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

16 Oct 2012

Biologists combine laser cutting technology with modern sequencing to analyze gene activity in fungi

With a combination of microscopic laser scissors and modern sequencing methods, biologists at the Ruhr-Universit-t have analyzed the activity of genes in the entire genome of certain fungi in one fell swoop.

3 Oct 2012

Researchers discover leptin hormone in fruit flies

Researchers have discovered in fruit flies a key metabolic hormone thought to be the exclusive property of vertebrates. The hormone, leptin, is a nutrient sensor, regulating energy intake and output and ultimately controlling appetite.

28 Sep 2012

DNp63a protein employs epigenetics to keep cancer cells alive

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is diagnosed in about 700,000 people in the United States every year. Commonly contributing to SCC is a protein called DNp63a - it goes abnormally high and the ability of a patient's body to kill cancer cells goes abnormally low. In many cases of SCC, it's just that simple. And science thought the function of DNp63a was simple, as well: the tumor suppressor gene p53 is responsible for recognizing and killing cancer cells, and in SCC, it's usually inactivated. It looked like high DNp63a repressed p53, made SCC.

27 Sep 2012

Fly neurons may uncover secrets of Alzheimer's disease

Although they're a common nuisance in the home, fruit flies have made great contributions to research in genetics and developmental biology. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher is again turning to this everyday pest to answer crucial questions about how neurons function at a cellular level - which may uncover the secrets of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

26 Sep 2012