Developmental Biology News and Research

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Brain cell connections weakened during first half of sleep, study reveals

During sleep, the brain weakens the new connections between neurons that had been forged while awake – but only during the first half of a night's sleep, according to a new study in fish by UCL scientists.

2 May 2024

ZIP7: A novel target for treating degenerative diseases associated with misfolded proteins

Proteins are the workhorses of life. Organisms use them as building blocks, receptors, processors, couriers and catalysts.

30 Apr 2024

Quantum biology's new frontier: Tryptophan networks and brain disease defense

The effects of quantum mechanics-;the laws of physics that apply at exceedingly small scales-;are extremely sensitive to disturbances.

29 Apr 2024

Newly developed organoid model can be used to study thymus function

Researchers from the Organoid group have developed a new organoid model that can be used to study the thymus.

29 Apr 2024

Study reveals surprising role of maternal cytokines in offspring psychiatric risk

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have discovered in a preclinical model that cytokines, proteins that control immune response, circulating in maternal blood during pregnancy may mitigate an offspring's risk for psychiatric conditions.

25 Apr 2024

Womb pressure shapes facial features, UCL study reveals

Physical cues in the womb, and not just genetics, influence the normal development of neural crest cells, the embryonic stem cells that form facial features, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

23 Apr 2024

Discovery of new vascular cell type may pave way for novel strategies to treat cardiovascular diseases

Cardiovascular diseases, including stroke and myocardial infarction, are the world's leading causes of mortality, accounting for over 18 million deaths a year.

18 Apr 2024

Nanopore sequencing unveils novel telomere length patterns

We depend on our cells being able to divide and multiply, whether it's to replace sunburnt skin or replenish our blood supply and recover from injury.

12 Apr 2024

Modeled human embryo produces a membrane that surrounds the developing embryo

A MedUni Vienna study team led by geneticist Markus Hengstschläger has used a stem cell model to model the earliest stages of embryonic development and to characterize the membrane that surrounds the embryo, conferring shape and stability.

5 Apr 2024

Cells' built-in stopwatch safeguards mitosis

Each day, hundreds of billions of cells in our body cycle through a period of growth and division. Yet in that time, only about 30 minutes is spent on the critical orchestration of mitosis, when chromosomes are carefully segregated from one parent cell to the next generation of two daughter cells.

28 Mar 2024

Researchers discover link between FBXW7 mutations and EGFR signaling in colorectal cancer

The Organoid group at the Hubrecht Institute have identified a new link between FBXW7 mutations and EGFR signaling activity.

18 Mar 2024

Study uncovers mutation impacting Alzheimer's progression

The scientist of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Malaga José Luis Royo has coordinated a study that summarizes eight years of research and brings together 100 multidisciplinary specialists, identifying a mutation that alters Alzheimer's disease progression.

15 Mar 2024

Researchers identify cold-sensing protein in mammals

University of Michigan researchers have identified the protein that enables mammals to sense cold, filling a long-standing knowledge gap in the field of sensory biology.

11 Mar 2024

New method simplifies production of limb progenitor cells from fibroblasts

In a collaborative study, researchers from Kyushu University and Harvard Medical School have identified proteins that can turn or "reprogram" fibroblasts -; the most commonly found cells in skin and connective tissue -; into cells with similar properties to limb progenitor cells.

4 Mar 2024

Hedonic overdrive model best explains high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice

High-fat diets cause obesity in male mice. The underlying mechanism, however, remains controversial. After assessing three contrasting ideas, researchers have determined that the hedonic overdrive model provides the best fit, according to a new study published in the journal Obesity, The Obesity Society's (TOS) flagship journal.

27 Feb 2024