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Researchers use baker's yeast to gain insight into chromosome separation process

Researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research used, ironically enough, the single-celled organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae -- commonly known as baker's yeast -- to gain new insight into the process by which chromosomes are physically segregated during cell division.

18 Nov 2011

Researchers shed light on inner workings of endocycle

An international team of researchers led by investigators in the U.S. and Germany has shed light on the inner workings of the endocycle, a common cell cycle that fuels growth in plants, animals and some human tissues and is responsible for generating up to half of the Earth's biomass.

31 Oct 2011

MYCN amplification can serve as a favorable prognostic indicator for neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma, a malignant tumor that primarily affects infants and young children, is a leading cause of death for children with cancer. When amplification of the MYCN oncogene is found in the tumor, it usually indicates an aggressive tumor with rapid progression of the disease and a poor outcome. Thus MYCN amplification has come to be used as a prognostic indicator.

12 Aug 2011

New finding about cell metabolism may have implications for neurodegenerative disorders

Cells are the building blocks of the human body. They are a focus of scientific study, because when things go wrong at the cellular and molecular level the consequences for human health are often significant.

8 Aug 2011

Carcinogenesis is just another form of speciation, proposes new theory

Cancer patients may view their tumors as parasites taking over their bodies, but this is more than a metaphor for Peter Duesberg, a molecular and cell biology professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

27 Jul 2011

Motor regulatory protein can block human ovarian tumor growth

A motor regulatory protein can block human ovarian tumor growth, leading to eventual cancer cell death and possible new therapies to treat the disease, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

27 Apr 2011

DNA rearrangements in roundworm chromosomes offer insight into genome duplications in developing tumors

A study of DNA rearrangements in roundworm chromosomes may offer new insight into large-scale genome duplications that occur in developing tumors.

22 Apr 2011

Scientists reveal unknown role of cilia protein IFT88 in mitosis

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have described a previously unknown role for the cilia protein IFT88 in mitosis, the process by which a dividing cell separates its chromosomes containing the cell's DNA into two identical sets of new daughter cells.

5 Apr 2011

Bessel beam plane illumination microscopy reveals 3-D structures of living cells

A new microscope invented by scientists at Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Farm Research Campus will let researchers use an exquisitely thin sheet of light -- similar to that used in supermarket bar-code scanners -- to peer inside single living cells, revealing the three-dimensional shapes of cellular landmarks in unprecedented detail.

5 Mar 2011

Mitochondrial dysfunction observed in children with full syndrome autism

Preliminary research has found that children with autism are more likely to have impaired mitochondrial function (structures within cells responsible for energy production) and mitochondrial DNA abnormalities than typically developing children, according to a study in the December 1 issue of JAMA.

1 Dec 2010

TTF therapy may increase median survival time in patients with recurrent glioblastoma tumors

Data presented today from a pivotal, phase III randomized clinical trial for patients with recurrent glioblastoma tumors suggest that Tumor Treating Fields (TTF) therapy may increase median survival time and improve quality of life scores compared to best standard of care chemotherapy.

20 Nov 2010

Scientists uncover minute mechanism of nuclear pore complexes at molecular level

Dr. Joseph Glavy at Stevens Institute of Technology studies the smallest and most basic elements of life. The Assistant Professor of Chemical Biology runs the Glavy Lab, where advanced student scientists study the nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) in cells, observing the minutest mechanisms of life as they unfold during mitosis. The Glavy Lab's formal purpose is to study the NPC at the molecular level in the pursuit of the unknown or unexpected in the well-studied but not always well-understood nuclei of living cells.

17 Nov 2010

Scientists discover mechanism of anticancer drug to kill cancer cells

A potent drug derived from an evergreen tree may soon save the lives of some patients with the deadliest form of breast cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer will claim approximately 40,000 lives in the U.S. this year.

15 Oct 2010

TTF therapy with chemotherapy increases survival time in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Novocure reported today that patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) achieved a significant increase in survival time when tumor treating fields (TTF) therapy was added to chemotherapy, as compared to previously reported outcomes for patients receiving chemotherapy alone.

11 Oct 2010

Researchers identify ways to predict embryonic developmental success

Two-thirds of all human embryos fail to develop successfully. Now, in a new study, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown that they can predict with 93 percent certainty which fertilized eggs will make it to a critical developmental milestone and which will stall and die. The findings are important to the understanding of the fundamentals of human development at the earliest stages, which have largely remained a mystery despite the attention given to human embryonic stem cell research.

4 Oct 2010

Quick increase of calcium concentration in cells rapidly trigger Aurora-A kinase enzyme activity

Aurora-A kinase (AurA) is an enzyme that is hyperactive in many cancers and drives tumor cell proliferation. Several AurA inhibitors are currently being tested in clinical trials to see if they slow tumor growth. Now, researchers in the Developmental Therapeutics Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center have identified an activation signal for AurA. They report in the September 7 issue of Nature Communications that a quick increase in the calcium concentration in a cell rapidly triggers AurA kinase activity.

8 Sep 2010

Bisphenol A chemical may shorten reproductive lifespan in women: Research

A study posted today (Wednesday, August 25) at the online site of the journal Biology of Reproduction reports that exposure of pregnant female mice to the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A may produce adverse reproductive consequences on gene expression in fetal ovaries as early as 12 hours after the mother has first been exposed to the chemical.

25 Aug 2010

SIK2 impacts cell division cycle, regulates ovarian cancer response to chemotherapy: Research

For the first time, Salt Inducible Kinase 2 (SIK2) has been found to play a critical role in cell division and to regulate the response of some ovarian cancers to chemotherapy.Findings were reported by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in the August issue of Cancer Cell. The study adds to growing evidence that combination therapies targeting different phases of the cell division cycle are vital for optimal cancer treatment.

17 Aug 2010

Research identifies abnormal huntingtin protein critical for mitosis and cell fate determination

New research finds that a protein that is often mutated in Huntington's disease (HD) plays an unexpected role in the process of neurogenesis. The research, published by Cell Press in the August 12 issue of the journal Neuron, provides new insight into HD pathology and has even broader implications for human health and disease.

12 Aug 2010

Over-expression of Arpc1b promotes tumorigenic properties of breast cancer cells: Research

A major discovery, led by researchers from The George Washington University Medical Center, promises to revolutionize the way scientists think about key aspects of cellular lifecycle and offers a new avenue for cancer researchers to explore in their quest to one day slow down the progression of cancer.

21 Jul 2010