Cell Division News and Research

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Cohesin protein disrupts gene function in Cornelia deLange syndrome

An international team of scientists studying a rare genetic disease discovered that a bundle of proteins with the long-established function of keeping chromosomes together also plays an important role in regulating genes in humans.

26 May 2009

Researchers discover six new genome sequences and fundamental insights to the Candida fungus family

An international research collaboration coordinated by UCD researchers and involving scientists at 21 institutes including the genome sequencing centres in the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK and the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard, USA have defined six new genome sequences in the Candida fungus family and identified genetic differences in species that cause disease.

25 May 2009

Discovery of a fundamental mechanism for cell organization

Scientists have discovered that cells use a very simple phase transition -- similar to water vapor condensing into dew -- to assemble and localize subcellular structures that are involved in formation of the embryo.

22 May 2009

Pathway opens up cure for Fanconi anemia

In patients with Fanconi anaemia (FA) one of the DNA repair mechanisms that normally protects us against cancer no longer works adequately. Dutch researcher Najim Ameziane set out to find the genes responsible for this defect.

14 May 2009

Scientists discover pattern of genetic faults to predict cancer drug success

A pattern of genetic defects in tumours could indicate whether ovarian cancer patients will respond to common chemotherapy drugs before treatment starts, reveals a Cancer Research UK study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today (Monday).

4 May 2009

Scientists make significant strides in identifying cause of bacterial infections

Several bacterial pathogens use toxins to manipulate human host cells, ultimately disturbing cellular signal transduction.

22 Apr 2009

How cells control the great divide

A scientist whose work is key to understanding how cancer cells divide and spread in the body is to present advances in his latest research at a public forum to be held at the University of Leicester.

22 Apr 2009

Exposure to Agent Orange increases risk of aggressive recurrence of prostate cancer

Veterans exposed to Agent Orange are at increased risk of aggressive recurrence of prostate cancer, researchers report.

20 Apr 2009

SIRT1 takes down tumors

Yuan et al. have identified another anti-cancer effect of the "longevity" protein SIRT1.

13 Apr 2009

Scientists uncover mimicry at the molecular level that protects genome integrity

The new study, which was published on April 12, 2009, in an advanced online edition of the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, draws new parallels between the Rad60 DNA repair factor and SUMO, a small ubiquitin-like modifier, which are both essential for maintaining genome stability during replication.

13 Apr 2009

Novel method for comprehensive proteome analysis

Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have deciphered a large percentage of the total protein complement (proteome) in Schizosaccharomyces pombe (S. pombe) fission yeast.

9 Apr 2009

Omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oils kills cancer cells

Docosahexanoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oils, has been shown to reduce the size of tumours and enhance the positive effects of the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, while limiting its harmful side effects.

1 Apr 2009

How your brain grows might come down to how your cells divide

In the April 6 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (JCB), Lake and Sokol report that mouse protein Vangl2 controls the asymmetrical cell division and developmental fate of progenitor neurons.

30 Mar 2009

Potential therapeutic strategy for fulminant hepatic failure

Fulminant hepatic failure is a serious clinical disease and may threaten the life of patients. However, because of the damage of mass liver cells, the organ function is often irreversible due to the liver cell degeneration, swelling, or apoptosis.

30 Mar 2009

Discovery of new cancer gene

Researchers have identified a new cancer gene - one that is common to many cancers and affects the most basic regulation of our genes.

29 Mar 2009

Step towards new cancer drugs

The gene Myc is an important factor for the growth of organisms by cell division.

20 Mar 2009

Lung cancer: Molecular scissors determine therapy effectiveness

In the past few years, a number of anti-cancer drugs have been developed which are directed selectively against specific key molecules of tumor cells.

17 Mar 2009

Measuring the strength needed to move chromosomes

It's about as long as the width of a human hair and only half that length across. So it's tiny - measured in millionths of a meter - and extremely tricky to manipulate. But the meiotic spindle plays so irresistibly important a role in separating our chromosomes during cell division that scientists are compelled to try to study it.

11 Mar 2009

'Seeing' stem cells helps in fight against peripheral arterial disease

Interventional radiologists are fitting together the puzzle pieces of how to use stem cells to create new or more blood vessels to treat peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in those individuals with extensively narrowed or clogged arteries.

11 Mar 2009

Advances in stem cell research

Scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston are on the forefront of stem cell research, developing novel therapies designed to generate heart cells, repair traumatic lung injuries, grow new bone and stanch the spread of cancer cells.

8 Mar 2009