Embryonic Development News and Research

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Embryonic development or embryogenesis is the process by which the embryo is formed and develops. It starts with the fertilization of the ovum, egg, which, after fertilization, is then called a zygote. The zygote undergoes rapid mitotic divisions, the formation of two exact genetic replicates of the original cell, with no significant growth (a process known as cleavage) and cellular differentiation, leading to development of an embryo.

Johns Hopkins scientist awarded Ho-Am prize for discovery of myostatin

South Korea's Ho-Am Foundation announced that Johns Hopkins researcher Se-Jin Lee, M.D., Ph.D., has won this year's Ho-Am Prize in Medicine.

5 Apr 2013

Anirban Maitra to lead pancreatic cancer research at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center

Anirban Maitra, M.B.B.S., a pre-eminent expert in the genetics of pancreatic cancer and the development of targeted therapies for the disease, will lead research at a new center at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center devoted to this highly lethal cancer.

5 Apr 2013

Research shows certain cells take on new identities through reprogramming mechanism

Researchers have been able to reprogram cells experimentally, but few have shown that cells can change their identities under normal physiological conditions in the body, particularly in mammals.

29 Mar 2013

Study: Neural-crest stem cells also play a key role in building olfactory sensory neurons

When our noses pick up a scent, whether the aroma of a sweet rose or the sweat of a stranger at the gym, two types of sensory neurons are at work in sensing that odor or pheromone.

26 Mar 2013

MIT biology professor named Pew's Biomedical Researcher of the Month

Biologist Mary Gehring, Ph.D. is The Pew Charitable Trusts' featured biomedical researcher of the month for her creative research on epigenetics in plants.

25 Mar 2013

Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience gets grant for research into neurological disorders

The Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, the first and only U.S. extension of the prestigious Max Planck Society, today announced it has received approximately $1,257,500 in grant funding from prestigious national and international organizations to fund research into Parkinson-s, epilepsy and other neurological disorders.

15 Mar 2013

Mir-125a-5p plays an essential role in ensuring that embryonic tissue segments form properly

New research shows that a tiny piece of RNA has an essential role in ensuring that embryonic tissue segments form properly.

12 Mar 2013

New bio-mimicking therapeutics could help treat skin wounds

In "before" and "after" photos from advertisements for wound-healing ointments, bandages and antibiotic creams, we see an injury transformed from an inflamed red gash to smooth and flawless skin. What we don't appreciate is the vital role that our own natural biomolecules play in the healing process, including their contribution to the growth of new cells and the development of new blood vessels that provide nutrients to those cells.

21 Feb 2013

Scientists explore development of unique dentition of 'toothed whales'

Whales are mammals, but they don't look like the mammals living around us, as they have a triangular fluke for tail, no hind legs and no body hair. And inside their mouths, their teeth are unfamiliar too - being much simpler and 'peg like'. A multidisciplinary team of researchers have now married together the fossil record and the embryonic development process to investigate how the whale got its teeth.

19 Feb 2013

Article details mechanism by which long non-coding RNA-activators promote gene expression

Long segments of RNA- encoded in our DNA but not translated into protein-are key to physically manipulating DNA in order to activate certain genes, say researchers at The Wistar Institute. These non-coding RNA-activators (ncRNA-a) have a crucial role in turning genes on and off during early embryonic development, researchers say, and have also been connected with diseases, including some cancers, in adults.

18 Feb 2013

FOXC2 vital to epithelial-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer

Researchers have identified a pivotal protein in a cellular transformation that makes a cancer cell more resistant to treatment and more capable of growing and spreading, making it an inviting new target for drug development.

14 Feb 2013

Researchers create high-resolution map of gene regulatory elements in the brain

Future research into the underlying causes of neurological disorders such as autism, epilepsy and schizophrenia, should greatly benefit from a first-of-its-kind atlas of gene-enhancers in the cerebrum (telencephalon).

2 Feb 2013

Biomaterials as neural stem cell niches can help repair damage in the CNS

Despite recent advances in understanding the mechanisms of nerve injury, tissue-engineering solutions for repairing damage in the central nervous system (CNS) remain elusive, owing to the crucial and complex role played by the neural stem cell (NSC) niche. This zone, in which stem cells are retained after embryonic development for the production of new cells, exerts a tight control over many crucial tasks such as growth promotion and the recreation of essential biochemical and physical cues for neural cell differentiation.

30 Jan 2013

Non-coding RNA essential for normal embryonic cardiogenesis

Many different tissues and organs form from pluripotent stem cells during embryonic development. To date it had been known that these processes are controlled by transcription factors for specific tissues. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin, in collaboration with colleagues at MIT and the Broad Institute in Boston, have now been able to demonstrate that RNA molecules, which do not act as templates for protein synthesis, participate in these processes as well.

30 Jan 2013

DRCRF announces recipients of Nov. 2012 Damon Runyon Fellows

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting innovative early career researchers, named 15 new Damon Runyon Fellows at its fall Fellowship Award Committee review.

29 Jan 2013

Miscarriage and molecular signals: an interview with Prof Brosens and Prof Quenby

Miscarriage is defined as the spontaneous loss of pregnancy before the baby reaches viability. Besides the physical trauma, miscarriage causes considerable anxiety, stress, and depression.

17 Jan 2013

Insect research yields insights for muscle control and nerve disorders in mammals

Working with fruit flies, Johns Hopkins scientists have decoded the activity of protein signals that let certain nerve cells know when and where to branch so that they reach and connect to their correct muscle targets. The proteins' mammalian counterparts are known to have signaling roles in immunity, nervous system and heart development, and tumor progression, suggesting broad implications for human disease research.

9 Jan 2013

Scientists map sensory nerves in mouse skin

Johns Hopkins scientists have created stunning images of the branching patterns of individual sensory nerve cells. Their report, published online in the journal eLife on Dec. 18, details the arrangement of these branches in skin from the backs of mice.

20 Dec 2012

GM604 target regulates over 4,000 genes: Genervon

Genervon scientists have confirmed that the target of GM604 regulates over 4,000 genes. More significantly, it modifies ALS disease progression by modulating at least 30 significant ALS related genes. It does this through at least 8 pathways, potentially more, and up to 22 biological processes.

13 Dec 2012

microRNAs play an important role during embryonic development

Sanford-Burnham researchers discover that microRNAs play an important role in germ layer formation-the process that determines which cells become which organs during embryonic development

3 Dec 2012