Embryo News and Research

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Appeals court restores federal funding of stem cell research

Government financing of human embryonic stem cell research can continue, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. The decision was an important victory for the Obama administration in a legal battle that is far from over.

2 May 2011

US Appeals Court overturns ban on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research

The U.S. Federal Court of Appeals has overturned an August 2010 ban on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, paving the way for broader exploration of how stem cells function and how they can be harnessed to treat a wide range of currently incurable diseases.

30 Apr 2011

GSN receives NIH grant for non-invasive prenatal test trial in genetic abnormalities

Gene Security Network announced today that they have received a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to conduct a clinical trial applying Parental Support technology for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis.

28 Apr 2011

New research provides insight into mechanism behind cardiac development

During embryonic development, cells migrate to their eventual location in the adult body plan and begin to differentiate into specific cell types. Thanks to new research at the University of Pennsylvania, there is new insight into how these processes regulate tissues formation in the heart.

25 Apr 2011

ESHRE's Guide for CBRC aims to ensure high-quality assisted reproduction treatment

The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology is setting the first ever standards in Cross Border Reproductive Care. The safety of patients, gamete donors, surrogates and future children take centre stage in ESHRE's Good Practice Guide for Cross Border Reproductive Care.

22 Apr 2011

Plant hormone auxin acts as a signalling molecule in embryo development

During the development of organisms, a particular event repeatedly occurs: a signal appears temporarily, but the processes it triggers must be maintained - for example, when the fate of cells in the embryo is established.

20 Apr 2011

Breakdown products of thalidomide cause birth defects: New study

Thalidomide may have been withdrawn in the early 1960s for use by pregnant women, but its dramatic effects remain memorable half a century later. Now, researchers have taken a major step toward understanding exactly how thalidomide causes the birth defects.

20 Apr 2011

Tweaking gene in satellite cells may increase lifespan of people with muscular dystrophy

Researchers have long questioned why patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) tend to manage well through childhood and adolescence, yet succumb to their disease in early adulthood, or why elderly people who lose muscle strength following bed rest find it difficult or impossible to regain.

18 Apr 2011

Scientists identify networks of genes critical in embryonic-heart development

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have identified networks of genes that play an important role in embryonic-heart development, advancing knowledge of how healthy hearts develop-and offering clues about how to combat a common birth defect known as congenital heart disease.

18 Apr 2011

Team of researchers study development of mesoderm

During the development of an embryo, a large number of different, specialised cell-types arise from the fertilised egg. The genetic information is identical in all cells of an organism. Different properties of cells arise because the activity of genes is controlled and regulated by so called transcription factors. By switching genes on or off, the body makes muscle cells, bone cells, liver cells and many more.

16 Apr 2011

Mandatory single embryo transfers for IVF may decrease risk and cost

The number of couples struggling with infertility is on the rise, and these couples often use assisted reproductive technologies, like in vitro fertilization (IVF), to get pregnant. Although IVF can be successful, it can also increase the risk of multiple pregnancies, which are often caused by transferring more than one embryo. Twins and triplets are likely to be born prematurely, and, as a result, many have medical complications.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers develop Short-CGH method for preimplantation genetic screening

A Short Comparative Genomic Hybridisation method has been developed to carry out preimplantation genetic screening by analysing all chromosomes and transferring selected embryos to the recipient uterus in the same in vitro fertilisation cycle. This eliminates the need to freeze them.

15 Apr 2011

Sea squirt study unravels complex mechanisms underlying heart defects

Each year in the U.S., approximately 40,000 babies are born with a heart defect. Without the proper diagnosis and treatment, many of these babies would die before their first birthday, according to Dr. Scott Klewer, a cardiologist at the UA's College of Medicine.

12 Apr 2011

New nonviral method to create cardiac cells

Johns Hopkins scientists have developed a simplified, cheaper, all-purpose method they say can be used by scientists around the globe to more safely turn blood cells into heart cells. The method is virus-free and produces heart cells that beat with nearly 100 percent efficiency, they claim.

11 Apr 2011

Navigator-3 gene plays a key role in liver development

Scientists of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine Berlin-Buch have demonstrated for the first time that a gene regulating neuronal cell migration during embryogenesis also plays a role in the development of the liver.

7 Apr 2011

New insight into embryonic tissue separation

As our bodies form, cells within the embryo divide and separate. Certain cells come together to form the outer layer, or ectoderm, of the early embryo, and give rise to tissue such as the skin and nervous system.

6 Apr 2011

Positive results from GDC-0449 Phase II data against basal cell nevus syndrome

A new hedgehog pathway inhibitor demonstrated efficacy in preventing and treating basal cell cancer among patients with basal cell nevus syndrome, a rare inheritable disease, according to Phase II data presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6.

4 Apr 2011

Mitochondrial defect inherited from mother is linked to high blood pressure in one Chinese family

A specific genetic defect in one Chinese family shows that high blood pressure was inherited from the female parent, researchers report in Circulation Research: Journal of the American Heart Association.

1 Apr 2011

Australian researchers say the search must widen for genes that cause heart defects in babies

Australian scientists have discovered a new group of genes that could be responsible for causing heart defects in children, which affect more than 2000 babies born each year in Australia.

29 Mar 2011

Bariatric surgery highly cost-effective treatment for obese type 2 diabetics

Bariatric surgery is an especially cost-effective therapy for managing Type 2 diabetes in moderately and severely obese patients. These findings and others were presented today at the 2nd World Congress on Interventional Therapies for Type 2 Diabetes, hosted by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College.

29 Mar 2011