Mitosis News and Research

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Clearer picture of how a dividing cell rebuilds the nuclear envelope

Just how a dividing cell rebuilds the nuclear envelope, the protective, functional wrapping that encases both the original and newly copied genetic material, has been a source of controversy for the last 20 years.

10 Sep 2007

Researchers dispute immortal strand hypothesis

How do adult stem cells protect themselves from accumulating genetic mutations that can lead to cancer?

30 Aug 2007

Scientists discover how HIV/AIDS disrupts the normal replication of stem cells in the adult brain

A prominent problem in AIDS is a form of dementia that robs one's ability to concentrate and perform normal movements.

17 Aug 2007

Link between ciliary signaling and cancer

Submarines have periscopes. Insects have antennae. And increasingly, biologists are finding that most normal vertebrate cells have cilia, small hair-like structures that protrude like antennae into the surrounding environment to detect signals that control cell growth.

29 Jun 2007

New anti-cancer target in enzyme MAP4K3

Scientists working at the Institute for Cancer Research have found a new anti-cancer target in MAP4K3, an enzyme which is able to 'switch on' the growth-promoter mTOR.

14 Mar 2007

Scientists discover function for antisense RNA

Researchers have found that a class of RNA molecules, previously thought to have no function, may in fact protect sex cells from self-destructing. These findings will be published in the November 17 issue of the journal Cell.

20 Nov 2006

New understanding of chromosomal glue

Researchers have a new understanding of the process cells use to ensure that sperm and eggs begin life with exactly one copy of each chromosome - a process that must be exquisitely regulated to prevent problems such as miscarriages and mental retardation.

8 May 2006

Reversing cell division has implications for the treatment of cancer

A scientist in the United States has apparently found a way to reverse the process of cell division.

13 Apr 2006

New discovery explains how a common gene variant may increase cancer risks

Roughly 15 percent of the population carries a gene variant that may increase the risk of developing cancer. The cause of this increased risk has been unknown until now. But now a research team at Stockholm University in Sweden can explain why.

21 Mar 2006

EntreMed announces new U.S. Patent - "Estrogenic Compounds as Anti-Mitotic Agents"

EntreMed has announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 7,012,070 covering methods of treatment for a broad range of indications with its lead clinical-stage compound, 2-methoxyestradiol (2ME2).

17 Mar 2006

Treatment of down syndrome in mice restores nerve growth in cerebellum

Researchers at Johns Hopkins restored the normal growth of specific nerve cells in the cerebellum of mouse models of Down syndrome (DS) that were stunted by this genetic condition. The cerebellum is the rear, lower part of the brain that controls signals from the muscles to coordinate balance and motor learning.

25 Jan 2006

Researchers discover potential mechanism for tumor growth

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have identified an inherent feature of stem and progenitor cells that may promote initiation and progression of cancerous tumors.

15 Dec 2005

Securin is not required for chromosomal stability in human cells

A critical aspect of cell division, or mitosis, is that the progeny cells must receive the full complement of chromosomes.

13 Dec 2005

Biologists uncover pivotal role of a gene called "Cut"

A DNA-binding protein, Cut interprets and transcribes the developmental signals sent through the "Notch" gene, which regulates a layer of epithelial cells as they replicate and divide. But when Cut garbles those signals the result is uncontrolled cell proliferation, sometimes with dire genetic and health consequences.

12 Oct 2005

Hidden secrets on the nature and timing of genome evolution in mammals revealed

Breakages in chromosomes in mammalian evolution have occurred at preferred rather than random sites as long thought, and many of the sites are involved in human cancers, an international team of 25 scientists has discovered.

21 Jul 2005

NIPA levels act as switch regulating cell division

Cells control mitosis (cell division) by assembling a biochemical switch to block it or by disassembling the switch to trigger it, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Technical University of Munich.

18 Jul 2005

Novel way in which the brain size of developing mammals may be regulated

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have discovered a novel way in which the brain size of developing mammals may be regulated. They have identified a signaling pathway that controls the orientation in which dividing neural progenitor cells are cleaved during development.

14 Jul 2005

A systematic search through human genes

...has begun at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany. Working within the MitoCheck consortium that includes 10 other institutes throughout Europe, the EMBL scientists will silence all human genes, one-by-one, to find those involved in cell division (mitosis) and to answer fundamental questions of how cell division is regulated.

14 Jul 2005

Old skin fungus drug has been found to be a possible cancer treatment

A drug that has been used for 40 years for the treatment of skin fungus has been found to be a possible cancer treatment, according to an international team of scientists. Leslie Wilson, professor of biochemistry and pharmacology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said that the antifungal drug, griseofulvin, has been shown to inhibit the growth of cancer cells in his laboratory.

30 Jun 2005

Researchers explain how ubiquitin function is determined

University of Maryland researchers have explained, for the first time, why the linkage between the cell-regulating protein molecules called ubiquitins determines their function.

10 Jun 2005