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.

MIT MEMS device provides precise way to physically arrange cells

Now MIT researchers led by Sangeeta Bhatia, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) and Brigham and Women's Hospital, have solved the problem with a novel device.

2 Apr 2007

Cannibalistic signals help mammalian embryos develop normally

A cannibalistic process called autophagy spurs dying embryonic stem cells to send "eat me" and "come get me" signals to have their corpses purged, a last gasp that paves the way for normal mammalian development, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

8 Mar 2007

Scientists alter electrical properties of cells inducing regeneration

Scientists at Forsyth may have moved one step closer to regenerating human spinal cord tissue by artificially inducing a frog tadpole to re-grow its tail at a stage in its development when it is normally impossible. Using a variety of methods including a kind of gene therapy, the scientists altered the electrical properties of cells thus inducing regeneration.

28 Feb 2007

How stem cells are regulated

Researchers from Biotech Research & Innovation Centre (BRIC) at University of Copenhagen have identified a new group of proteins that regulate the function of stem cells. The results are published in the new issue of Cell.

22 Feb 2007

Women in the UK to trade eggs for IVF treatment

According to the fertility regulator in the UK women there will soon be able to donate their eggs for medical research.

21 Feb 2007

Ceramide plays big role in embryonic development

A little-known lipid plays a big role in helping us grow from a hollow sphere of stem cells into human beings, researchers have found.

5 Feb 2007

Small molecule targets weak mRNA

A new strategy for fighting cancer aims to make its genes get lost in translation, according to a report in the January 26, 2007, issue of the journal Cell.

28 Jan 2007

All pregnant women have at least one kind of pesticide in their placenta

Human beings are directly responsible for more than 110,000 chemical substances which have been generated since the Industrial Revolution.

1 Sep 2006

DNA of human embryonic stem cells is chemically modified in a characteristic, predictable pattern

Embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos that are undergoing a period of intense cellular activity, including the chemical addition of methyl groups to specific DNA sequences in a process known as DNA methylation.

6 Aug 2006

Specialized skin cells use GPS like mapping system to identify where they belong in the body

Until now it's been a mystery as to how adult skin, which consists of basically the same components all over the body, knows to grow hair in some areas like the scalp, while manufacturing sweat glands, calluses and fingerprint whorls in others

2 Aug 2006

Genetics researchers identify second gene that gives rise to Alagille syndrome

In a finding that may have broader implications for understanding kidney disorders, genetics researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have identified a second gene that gives rise to Alagille syndrome.

2 Aug 2006

Conception and pregnancy put at risk by marijuana use

According to new research the use of marijuana when a woman is trying to conceive or has just become pregnant, is not recommended as it endangers the passage of the embryo from the ovary to the uterus and can result in a failed pregnancy.

2 Aug 2006

Loss of Matrilin-3 gene leads to osteoarthritis

A gene that is associated with osteoarthritis and skeletal deformities in people has been shown to be responsible for preventing the onset of osteoarthritis in adult mice, according to a recent study led by Rhode Island Hospital.

24 Jul 2006

In vitro fertilisation could be causing genetic errors in embryo

The conditions in which embryos are cultured in the laboratory during in vitro fertilisation could be causing genetic errors that are associated with certain developmental syndromes and other abnormalities in growth and development, such as low birth weight.

19 Jun 2006

New method of testing eggs for abnormalities could solve problems of embryo freezing

Italian researchers have shown for the first time that it is possible to test a woman's egg, before fertilisation, for chromosomal abnormalities that might make an embryo less likely to implant successfully or more likely to miscarry at a later stage.

19 Jun 2006

New roles for growth factors

During embryonic development, nerve cells hesitantly extend tentacle-like protrusions called axons that sniff their way through a labyrinth of attractive and repulsive chemical cues that guide them to their target.

18 Jun 2006

Stem cell breakthrough

Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and the University of Calgary have found that stem cells derived from adult skin can create neural cell types that can be transplanted into and function in mouse models of disease.

14 Jun 2006

Two specific genes, Wnt4 and Fgf9 fight to determine sexual differentiation

Whether or not a fertilized mammalian egg ultimately develops into a male or female is determined by the winner of a tug of war between two different genes encoding signaling proteins and the divergent pathways they control.

1 Jun 2006

DARPA grant supports research toward realizing tissue regeneration

While U.S. soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are surviving injuries that in previous conflicts likely would have been fatal, the number of wounded with major tissue loss has never before been so high.

3 May 2006

Discovery brings embryonic stem cell medicine a step closer

A team of scientists announced a critical step on the path of realizing the promise of embryonic stem (ES) cells for medicine. The researchers have discovered unique molecular imprints coupled to DNA in mouse ES cells that help explain the cells' rare ability to form almost any body cell type. These imprints, or "signatures," appear near the master genes that control embryonic development and probably coordinate their activity in the early stages of cell differentiation. Not only do these findings help to unlock the basis for ES cells' seemingly unlimited potential, they also suggest ways to understand why ordinary cells are so limited in their abilities to repair or replace damaged cells.

26 Apr 2006