Developmental Biology News and Research

RSS

U-M researchers reveal molecular signals that regulate catch-up growth

University of Michigan researchers have uncovered molecular signals that regulate catch-up growth---the growth spurt that occurs when normal conditions are restored after a fetus, young animal or child has been ill, under stress or deprived of enough food or oxygen to grow properly.

29 Jan 2011

St. Michael's Hospital to build first automated high-throughput zebrafish screening facility in Canada

Zebrafish are the new fruit flies.

27 Jan 2011

MicroRNA-29 molecule makes brain cells resistant to programmed cell death

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered a molecule that can make brain cells resistant to programmed cell death or apoptosis.

19 Jan 2011

New laboratory manual on imaging in developmental biology

Imaging technologies have revolutionized the study of developmental biology and are now essential tools for researchers in the field. A newly released laboratory manual, Imaging in Developmental Biology, presents a comprehensive set of visualization methods specifically for developmental biologists. It is the newest volume in a series of imaging manuals published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

5 Jan 2011

Biomagnification of nanomaterials in simple food chain demonstrated

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at UC Santa Barbara has produced a groundbreaking study of how nanoparticles are able to biomagnify in a simple microbial food chain.

21 Dec 2010

Anoles key to medically applicable regeneration?

Anolis lizards first entered Arizona State University biologist Kenro Kusumi's life in 1980 when, as a member of a junior curator program, he recorded in his field notebook that he had found an Anolis egg on a field trip. Kusumi still has those notes, along with other memorabilia that document the influence that both his early life and more recent experiences have had on his current pursuits in developmental biology.

15 Dec 2010

Scientists create functioning human intestinal tissue from pluripotent stem cells

For the first time, scientists have created functioning human intestinal tissue in the laboratory from pluripotent stem cells.

13 Dec 2010

Stem cell biology offers great hope for eventual repair of body parts

Remarkable progress in understanding how stem cell biology works has been reported by a team of leading scientists, directed by experts at UC Santa Barbara. Their research has been published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

13 Dec 2010

Hamilton Thorne launches new Stiletto laser for regenerative medicine and stem cell research markets

Hamilton Thorne Ltd., a leading provider of advanced laser systems for the regenerative medicine and stem cell research markets, today announced the launch of its new Stiletto™ laser system. The Stiletto™ laser system has broad applications for research with a variety of cells, allowing the Company to enter new and exciting research markets, including developmental and advanced cell biology.

9 Dec 2010

Researchers synthesize wound-healing peptides

Newly-created bioactive peptides promote wound healing through the growth of new blood vessels and epithelial tissue, such as skin. These wound-healing peptides, synthesized by researchers at the Tufts Center for Innovations in Wound Healing Research, increased angiogenesis in vitro by 200 percent.

8 Dec 2010

HDAC inhibitors may be used to fight against skin cancers

In a study published in the journal Developmental Cell, Sarah Millar PhD, professor of Dermatology and Cell & Developmental Biology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and colleagues demonstrate that a pair of enzymes called HDACs are critical to the proper formation of mammalian skin.

7 Dec 2010

Exposure to BPA during perinatal development impairs reproductive capacity of female offspring

Exposure to a ubiquitous environmental chemical during pregnancy may impair reproductive capacity of female offspring, according to a study published online in advance of print on December 2 in Environmental Health Perspectives. Fertility decreased over time in female mice that had been exposed during fetal and neonatal (perinatal) development to doses of bisphenol-A (BPA) that were lower than or equal to human environmental exposure levels.

2 Dec 2010

Odors in womb sensitize fetus to smells, alters brain development

A major new study shows that a pregnant mother's diet not only sensitizes the fetus to those smells and flavors, but physically changes the brain directly impacting what the infant eats and drinks in the future.

1 Dec 2010

Disrupting estrogen pathway can halt expansion of breast cancer stem cells: Research

Breast cancer stem cells (CSCs), the aggressive cells thought to be resistant to current anti-cancer therapies and which promote metastasis, are stimulated by estrogen via a pathway that mirrors normal stem cell development.

23 Nov 2010

FDA-approved anti-parasite drug blocks Wnt signaling pathway in colon cancer

An old pinworm medicine is a new lead in the search for compounds that block a signaling pathway implicated in colon cancer. The findings, reported by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers in the November issue of Nature Chemical Biology, suggest a fresh approach for developing therapeutics that target the pathway.

20 Nov 2010

Cold Spring releases new series of laboratory manuals

Sophisticated techniques that permit the visualization of dynamic processes in cells, tissues, and organ systems at extraordinary levels of resolution have become tremendously valuable in biological research. However, finding the right imaging method and optimizing it for data collection can be a daunting process, even for an established imaging laboratory. To fill this need, a new series of laboratory manuals has been developed by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. The first volume in this series, Imaging: A Laboratory Manual, has just been released.

19 Nov 2010

Toxic darts may yiled new strategies to control disease-causing pathogens

In nature, it's a dog-eat-dog world, even in the realm of bacteria. Competing bacteria use "toxic darts" to disable each other, according to a new study by UC Santa Barbara biologists.

19 Nov 2010

Researchers find link between genetic defect and sticky mucus in cystic fibrosis

An imbalance of salt and water in patients with cystic fibrosis makes their lungs clog up with sticky mucus that is prone to infection. The cause of the offending imbalance is a well-known genetic error, one that blocks the molecular expressway for tiny chloride ions to move across the surface of the lungs.

15 Nov 2010

Study suggests microRNA binding site helps improved prognosis of colorectal cancer at early stage

A variant site linked to poor outcome in advanced colorectal cancer has now been found to predict improved prognosis in early stages of cancer, according to research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research special conference on Colorectal Cancer: Biology to Therapy, held Oct. 27-30, 2010.

29 Oct 2010

Researchers use fruit fly for cancer research

SMALL and with a life cycle of just two weeks, fruit flies are seen by many as pests and a problem all year round. However, for nearly a century, the humble insect, officially known as Drosophila melanogaster, which measures no more than 3mm, has performed a vital role in genetics and developmental biology.Fruit flies are genetically diverse and easy to use in research, helping scientists in a variety of studies, from how the brain functions to how cancer develops.

22 Oct 2010