Embryo News and Research

RSS

Study shows wide-ranging variation in patterns of X chromosome inactivation in female mice

Producing brightly speckled red and green snapshots of many different tissues, Johns Hopkins researchers have color-coded cells in female mice to display which of their two X chromosomes has been made inactive, or “silenced.”

10 Jan 2014

Researcher reveals how temperature impacts development of embryos

In nature, animals face a broad range of temperatures, and at times the heat can become taxing. When it becomes too hot to survive, some animals can simply migrate to more favorable climates, but what if you are a mere embryo confined within an egg and cannot escape the heat?

6 Jan 2014

New study by bioethicists indicates patients give "broad endorsement" to iPSC research

In an early indication of lay opinions on research with induced pluripotent stem cells, which are stem cells made from skin or other tissues, a new study by bioethicists at Johns Hopkins University indicates that despite some ethical concerns, patients give the research "broad endorsement".

6 Jan 2014

Researchers study zebrafish embryo skin to find link between low calcium and colon cancer

A tiny, transparent fish embryo and a string of surprises led scientists to a deeper understanding of the perplexing link between low calcium and colon cancer.

14 Dec 2013

Polyunsaturated fatty acids play key role in embryonic development

One classical question in developmental biology is how different tissue types arise in the correct position of the developing embryo. While one signaling pathway that controls this process has been well described, unexpected findings from a team led by Carnegie's Steven Farber reveal the importance of polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism in this process. It is published online December 12 in Developmental Cell.

13 Dec 2013

New study may pave way for more effective treatment for deadly childhood cancer

A new study by Canadian researchers may pave the way for more effective treatment of an aggressive and deadly type of brain tumour, known as ETMR/ETANTR. The tumour, which is seen only in children under four, is almost always fatal, despite aggressive treatment. The study proposes a new model for how this brain tumour develops and suggests possible targets to investigate for novel therapies.

12 Dec 2013

Father's diet before conception plays crucial role in health of offspring

Mothers get all the attention. But a study led by McGill researcher Sarah Kimmins suggests that the father's diet before conception may play an equally important role in the health of their offspring. It also raises concerns about the long-term effects of current Western diets and of food insecurity.

11 Dec 2013

Scientists devise method to measure forces in 3D tissues, living embryos

As embryonic tissue develops, cells push and pull on each other, and they must do so correctly for the tissue to develop properly. Now scientists at Harvard University have devised the first method to measure these forces in three-dimensional (3D) tissues and living embryos.

10 Dec 2013

UC Santa Barbara professor finds method for measuring cellular forces that shape tissues, organs

Like tiny construction workers, cells sculpt embryonic tissues and organs in 3D space. This task is complicated and requires constant communication between cells to coordinate their actions and generate the forces that will shape their environment into complex tissue morphologies.

10 Dec 2013

Tet1 helps erase epigenetic imprints from genome ahead of egg, sperm development

A protein called Tet1 is partly responsible for giving primordial germ cells a clean epigenetic slate before developing into sperm and egg cells, according to a new study by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital.

4 Dec 2013

New genetics promises to change faulty genes of future generations by using "designer sperm”

Bethesda, MD-Get ready: The "new genetics" promises to change faulty genes of future generations by introducing new, functioning genes using "designer sperm." A new research report appearing online in The FASEB Journal, shows that introducing new genetic material via a viral vector into the sperm of mice leads to the presence and activity of those genes in the resulting embryos.

3 Dec 2013

ARMI reveals new insights into how cells organize and form an early mammalian embryo

In research published today in Nature Cell Biology, scientists from the EMBL Australia research team based at Monash University's Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) have revealed new insights into how cells organise and form an early mammalian embryo.

26 Nov 2013

Chicken eggs can provide better understanding of human birth defects

Clemson University researchers found that chicken eggs can provide a better understanding of human birth defects. Susan Chapman, associate professor in Clemson's College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences, received a South Carolina IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence award that allowed researchers to identify two regions in the chicken genome that are associated with congenital deafness and spine deformities in humans.

26 Nov 2013

Research sheds light on how protein keeps people organized by promoting orderly skeletal growth

Most people think that their planners or their iPhones keep them organized, when proteins such as liver kinase b1 (Lkb1) actually have a lot more to do with it. New research from postdoctoral fellow Lick Lai in the lab of USC scientist Andy McMahon published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) sheds light on how this important protein keeps people organized on a basic level by promoting orderly skeletal growth and preventing skeletal tumors.

15 Nov 2013

Researchers shed light on how and when immune system forms

Researchers at Lund University have shed light on how and when the immune system is formed, raising hope of better understanding various diseases in children, such as leukaemia.

13 Nov 2013

Multiple pregnancies: A major public health concern worldwide

Multiple pregnancies are a major public health concern in the United States and the rest of the world due to the significantly higher health risks for both mothers and infants, as well as the impact on healthcare costs.

11 Nov 2013

Researchers able to regrow bone, hair, soft tissues and cartilage in mouse model

Young animals are known to repair their tissues effortlessly, but can this capacity be recaptured in adults? A new study from researchers at the Stem Cell Program at Boston Children's Hospital suggests that it can. By reactivating a dormant gene called Lin28a, which is active in embryonic stem cells, researchers were able to regrow hair and repair cartilage, bone, skin and other soft tissues in a mouse model.

8 Nov 2013

New study could help lead to prevention and treatment of heart failure in diabetics

Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered one of the pathogenic components of diabetes in the heart, as published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

7 Nov 2013

ARIAD temporarily suspends commercial distribution of Iclusig drug in US

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it is temporarily suspending the marketing and commercial distribution of Iclusig® (ponatinib), a treatment for patients with resistant or intolerant chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL), in the United States, while it continues to negotiate updates to the U.S. prescribing information for Iclusig and implementation of a risk mitigation strategy.

31 Oct 2013

Clarified role of signal-relay proteins may help explain spread of cancer

Cell biologists at The Johns Hopkins University have teased apart two integral components of the machinery that causes cells to move. Their discovery shows that cellular projections, which act as hands to help a cell "crawl," are apparently always initiated by a network of message-relaying proteins inside the cell.

21 Oct 2013