Cell Division News and Research

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RNA steps up to protect the genome from DNA knots

Not all DNA looks like the familiar twisted ladder. Sometimes, parts of our genetic code fold into unusual shapes. One such structure, the G-quadruplex (G4), looks like a knot.

13 Jun 2025

Glucocorticoid receptor plays dual role in prostate cancer progression

A recent study from the Institute of Biomedicine at the University of Eastern Finland shows that the glucocorticoid receptor can both promote and inhibit prostate cancer progression, depending on the circumstances.

11 Jun 2025

Researchers report a new avenue for targeted drug delivery

A new avenue for targeted drug delivery has been proposed by researchers from The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

29 May 2025

Necrosis may hold the key to unlocking longevity and space health solutions

The process of necrosis, a form of cell death, may represent one of the most promising ways to change the course of human aging, disease and even space travel, according to a new study from researchers at UCL, drug discovery company LinkGevity and the European Space Agency (ESA).

29 May 2025

Researchers find way to protect mitochondria from stress-induced damage

Mitochondria are the cell's power plants: They turn the food we eat into the energy our cells can use. But when stress hijacks the process they use to maintain their quality, they get snipped into useless fragments and go into a tailspin that spreads from cell to cell and triggers a wide range of human diseases.

26 May 2025

Tuberculosis bacteria use molecular switch to pause and restart growth

The bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB) may have an "on-off switch" that lets them pause and restart growth, according to a new study from the University of Surrey and the University of Oxford.

23 May 2025

Exploring the link between microbial balance and aging mechanisms

Aging is a multifaceted process driven by interconnected biological mechanisms, among which genomic instability and telomere attrition stand as primary hallmarks.

20 May 2025

Study reveals how PAX3 protein drives melanoma growth

PAX3 is a transcription factor (proteins involved in converting DNA into RNA) that drives melanoma progression by promoting cell growth, migration and survival, while inhibiting cellular terminal differentiation, which is the final stage where a cell becomes specialized and cell division ends.

19 May 2025

Scientists capture first real time images of heart formation in mouse embryos

Researchers at UCL and the Francis Crick Institute have, for the first time, identified the origin of cardiac cells using 3D images of a heart forming in real-time, inside a living mouse embryo.

13 May 2025

RANBP2 identified as key regulator in the progression of multiple solid tumors

The nuclear pore complex protein RANBP2 has emerged as a critical factor in the development and progression of various solid malignancies.

12 May 2025

New insights into bacterial division through engineered protein control

The Min protein system prevents abnormal cell division in bacteria by forming oscillating patterns between the ends of a cell ("poles"). Despite decades of theoretical work, predicting the protein concentrations at which oscillations start and whether cells can maintain them under different conditions has been a challenge.

7 May 2025

Study uncovers how a mobile genetic element hijacks human cells

Viruses are known to use the genetic machinery of the human cells they invade to make copies of themselves. As part of the process, viruses leave behind remnants throughout the genetic material (genomes) of humans.

2 May 2025

Epigenetic flexibility helps embryos avoid developmental errors

An international research team led by Helmholtz Munich has, for the first time, provided a detailed insight into how the spatial organization of genetic material is established in the cell nucleus of early embryos within the first hours after fertilization.

23 Apr 2025

Study uncovers protective mechanism of BRCA2 in cancer treatment

Mutations in BRCA2 — a gene known to repair damaged DNA and suppress tumor formation — can predict an individuals' predisposition to develop breast cancer, ovarian, prostate, pancreatic, and other epithelial tumors.

26 Mar 2025

City of Hope researchers uncover the two-step process of tumor formation

Researchers at City of Hope, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the U.S. with its National Medical Center named top 5 in the nation for cancer by U.S. News & World Report, have found that cell mutations are necessary but not always sufficient for tumors to form.

26 Mar 2025

New chromatin tracing method unlocks DNA looping process in high resolution

Among the many marvels of life is the cell's ability to divide and thus enable organisms to grow and renew themselves.

24 Mar 2025

Asgard archaea provide clues to the origin of complex life forms

Ten years ago, nobody knew that Asgard archaea even existed. In 2015, however, researchers examining deep-sea sediments discovered gene fragments that indicated a new and previously undiscovered form of microbes.

22 Mar 2025

New drug combination shows promise in treating melanoma brain metastasis

A federally funded research team led by Sheri Holmen, PhD, investigator at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Utah (the U), is testing a new combination drug therapy that could both treat and prevent melanoma metastasis, or spreading from its original site, to the brain.

21 Mar 2025

New function of Exportin-1 discovered in gene transcription

Researchers from Northwestern University have stumbled upon a previously unobserved function of a protein found in the cell nuclei of all flora and fauna.

20 Mar 2025

Research findings solve the paradox of how the immune system balances speed and precision

Germinal centers are high-speed evolution machines. Tiny clusters in the lymph nodes, germinal centers refine antibodies through mutation and expansion until they produce high-affinity B cells adapted to keep different pathogens in check.

19 Mar 2025