Cell Biology

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Human leukemia virus increases disease risk by changing the way DNA loops inside our cells

A human virus that causes a rare form of leukemia increases the risk of disease by changing the way DNA loops inside our cells.

29 Jun 2018

Molecular brake on cell proliferation prevents DNA damage and cancer development

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and the University of Sussex, England, have discovered that the process of copying DNA generates a brake signal that stalls cell division.

28 Jun 2018

DNA methylation predicts survival outcome in patients with glioma

A new study has shown that survival rates among patients with glioma double if the tumor carries a methylated MGMT gene.

28 Jun 2018

Mice study opens new avenues to develop therapies for growth disorders

Maintaining equal growth rates in opposing limbs is crucial for animals to achieve a symmetrical adult form; what happens if something goes wrong with one limb during development?

27 Jun 2018

Scientists create microparticles that mimic human T cells

Researchers have developed synthetic microparticles with properties and behaviors that closely mimic human T cells.

27 Jun 2018

Discovery provides new mechanism that could be exploited to create malaria vaccine

Scientists have revealed that immune cells called natural killer (NK) cells may play a key role in ridding the body of malaria-infected blood cells, a study in eLife reports.

27 Jun 2018

MIT researchers decode structure of molecule that gives tissues their elasticity

The stretchiness that allows living tissues to expand, contract, stretch, and bend throughout a lifetime is the result of a protein molecule called tropoelastin. Remarkably, this molecule can be stretched to eight times its length and always returns back to its original size.

26 Jun 2018

Canadian researchers uncover new molecular mechanism to stop proliferation of cancer cells

Canadian researchers have discovered a new and direct molecular mechanism to stop cancer cells from proliferating. In the prestigious journal Nature Cell Biology, scientists from Université de Montréal show that a disruption of a fine balance in the composition of ribosomes (huge molecules that translate the genetic code into proteins) results in a shutdown of cancer cell proliferation, triggering a process called senescence.

26 Jun 2018

Oxygen-starved tumors have an Achilles' heel that could be targeted with drugs

A tumor's goal is simple: to grow, grow, grow, by making more cancer cells. But that often means growing so fast that the oxygen supply gets scarce, at which point cells within the tumor start to suffocate.

25 Jun 2018

New discovery suggests potential target for treating cancers and other diseases

When cells grow and divide to ensure a biological function - such as a properly working organ - DNA must be unwound from its typical tightly packed form and copied into RNA to create proteins.

25 Jun 2018

Lund researchers develop fluorescent variant of a molecule that inhibits cancer stem cells

A team of researchers at Lund University in Sweden has developed a fluorescent variant of a molecule that inhibits cancer stem cells.

25 Jun 2018

Researchers use gene editing to reduce autism symptoms in mice

Researchers have used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to treat symptoms of autism in mice. It is hoped that the tool could one day be used to help humans.

25 Jun 2018

Study: Inner nuclear envelope plays role in lipid metabolism

The cell nucleus is an organelle, in which the DNA of an organism is protected and duplicated. The nucleus of this organ-like structure in the cell plasma is surrounded by an outer and an inner nuclear envelope, which is penetrated by openings - so-called nuclear pores.

22 Jun 2018