Embryo News and Research

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Researchers develop mouse model that reproduces most typical features of Noonan syndrome

Noonan syndrome is a rare disease that is characterised by a set of pathologies, including heart, facial and skeletal alterations, pulmonary stenosis, short stature, and a greater incidence of haematological problems (mainly juvenile myeloid leukaemia, or childhood leukaemia).

6 Nov 2014

Study: Tbx5 protein contributes to formation of epicardium, pericardium, coronary vessels

Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defect, affecting 8 out of every 1,000 newborns according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. In the U.S., more than 35,000 babies are born annually with some sort of heart defect.

16 Oct 2014

Researchers discover new kind of stem cell that may hold clues to origins of liver cancer

A Mount Sinai-led research team has discovered a new kind of stem cell that can become either a liver cell or a cell that lines liver blood vessels, according to a study published today in the journal Stem Cell Reports. The existence of such a cell type contradicts current theory on how organs arise from cell layers in the embryo, and may hold clues to origins of, and future treatment for, liver cancer.

15 Oct 2014

Experiments show that 'unsung' cells are crucial to the process of bone loss caused by bone disorder

Experiments in mice with a bone disorder similar to that in women after menopause show that a scientifically overlooked group of cells are likely crucial to the process of bone loss caused by the disorder, according to Johns Hopkins researchers.

6 Oct 2014

IRCM researchers discover mechanism that promotes progression of medulloblastoma

Scientists at the IRCM discovered a mechanism that promotes the progression of medulloblastoma, the most common brain tumour found in children. The team, led by Fr-d-ric Charron, PhD, found that a protein known as Sonic Hedgehog induces DNA damage, which causes the cancer to develop.

3 Oct 2014

Unisense FertiliTech's EmbryoViewer software gets FDA approval for IVF practices

World leading time-lapse technology provider within the field of IVF, Unisense FertiliTech A/S, has received FDA 510(k) clearance for its "Compare & Select" feature in the EmbryoViewer software - an accessory to the EmbryoScope time-lapse incubator - which assists IVF professionals in selecting embryos for transfer when treating infertile couples or individuals wishing to become a parent.

24 Sep 2014

Viewpoints: Surgery surprise: Out-of-network doctors' bills; consequences of making Medicaid enrollees pay premiums

The New York Times' Elisabeth Rosenthal offered an important lesson in healthcare economics over the weekend that's a must-read for anyone about to undergo a major medical procedure.

24 Sep 2014

Human stem cells can be reset to their native undifferentiated state

Scientists at the Babraham Institute, in collaboration with colleagues at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and the European Bioinformatics Institute, have made a breakthrough in stem cell research. Their paper, published today in Cell, describes how human stem cells can be reverted back to non-specialised cells.

11 Sep 2014

Nasal septum cells can repair human articular cartilage defects

Human articular cartilage defects can be treated with nasal septum cells. Researchers at the University and the University Hospital of Basel report that cells taken from the nasal septum are able to adapt to the environment of the knee joint and can thus repair articular cartilage defects.

30 Aug 2014

Longer looks: A new kind of abortion war; foster kids and psychotropic drugs

While pro-life activists fight to rescue IVF embryos from the freezer, pregnant women in their third trimester with catastrophic fetal anomalies have nowhere to turn. ... Perhaps there is no other issue that touches on so many core dimensions of American society - legal, medical, scientific, theological, political, philosophical, biological, ethical, and ecological. What some on one side of the debate call reproductive justice, others call taking a life. What some call a person, others call a cluster of cells.

28 Aug 2014

Zebrafish and virus help scientists map the living brain

A virus and a zebrafish are helping scientists map the living brain. "You can kinda draw a diagram and see how cells within it are connected in a functioning brain," said Dr. Albert Pan, neuroscientist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University.

26 Aug 2014

Scientists grow fully functional organ in animal from transplanted laboratory-created cells

Laboratory-grown replacement organs have moved a step closer with the completion of a new study. Scientists have grown a fully functional organ from transplanted laboratory-created cells in a living animal for the first time.

26 Aug 2014

Researchers use microengineered device to show how EMT cancer cells migrate

Using a microengineered device that acts as an obstacle course for cells, researchers have shed new light on a cellular metamorphosis thought to play a role in tumor cell invasion throughout the body.

18 Aug 2014

Researchers find crucial signaling pathway that helps HSCs to generate

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) give rise to all other blood cell types, but their development and how their fate is determined has long remained a mystery.

14 Aug 2014

Synthetic protein could improve diagnosis and treatment of male infertility

Queen's University researcher Richard Oko and his co-investigators have come up with a promising method of treating male infertility using a synthetic version of the sperm-originated protein known as PAWP.

12 Aug 2014

State highlights: Abortion restrictions prompt Senate fights; Vt.'s single payer March; Kan. uninsured numbers up

The 2014 campaign hasn't had the equivalent of Todd Akin's infamous rape comments driving the abortion debate. Instead, Democrats and Republicans are using a slew of new state abortion restrictions as weapons in the tight battle for control of the Senate.

8 Aug 2014

Mutations in CTR9 gene cause rare cases of Wilms tumour in children

Mutations in a gene that helps regulate when genes are switched on and off in cells have been found to cause rare cases of Wilms tumour, the most common kidney cancer occurring in children.

7 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 7, 2014

Today's headlines include stories about how uninsured people fare with the health law's exemptions.

7 Aug 2014

Scientists discover new pathway to manipulate, maintain human ESCs in a "na-ve"

For years, researchers and patients have hoped that embryonic stem cells (ESCs)-capable of forming nearly any cell type in the body-could provide insight into numerous diseases perhaps even be used to treat them. Yet progress has been hampered by the inability to transfer research and tools from mouse ESC studies to their human counterparts, in part because human ESCs are "primed" and slightly less plastic than the mouse cells.

26 Jul 2014

Signaling pathway key player in formation of front-most portion of developing vertebrate embryos

A signaling pathway once thought to have little if any role during embryogenesis is a key player in the formation of the front-most portion of developing vertebrate embryos.

18 Jul 2014