Developmental Biology News

April 25, 2024

Top Headlines

Scientists Discover the Cellular Functions of a Family of Proteins Integral to Inflammatory Diseases

Apr. 22, 2024 — In a scientific breakthrough, researchers have revealed the biological mechanisms by which a family of proteins known as histone deacetylases (HDACs) activate immune system cells linked to ...

Researchers Create Artificial Cells That Act Like Living Cells

Apr. 23, 2024 — Researchers describe the steps they took to manipulate DNA and proteins -- essential building blocks of life -- to create cells that look and act like cells from the body. This accomplishment, a first in the field, has implications for efforts in ...

New Compound from Blessed Thistle Promotes Functional Nerve Regeneration

Apr. 19, 2024 — Blessed thistle (Cnicus benedictus) is a plant in the family Asteraceae. For centuries, it has been used as a medicinal herb as an extract or tea, e.g. to aid the digestive system. Researchers have now found a completely novel use for Cnicin. Animal ...

How Tardigrades Can Survive Intense Radiation

Apr. 15, 2024 — Researchers have discovered that tardigrades -- microscopic animals famed for surviving harsh extremes -- have an unusual response to ...

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AI Tool Creates 'Synthetic' Images of Cells for Enhanced Microscopy Analysis

Apr. 22, 2024 — Researchers have developed a method to use an image generation AI model to create realistic images of single cells, which are then used as 'synthetic ...

Octopus Inspires New Suction Mechanism for Robots

Apr. 18, 2024 — A new robotic suction cup which can grasp rough, curved and heavy stone, has been developed by ...

Solving a Mini Mystery of Cell Division

Apr. 17, 2024 — Trying to hit a target size before dividing seems like the best strategy for maintaining a precise cell size, but bacteria don't do that. Now we know ...

Researchers Uncover Human DNA Repair by Nuclear Metamorphosis

Apr. 17, 2024 — Researchers have discovered a DNA repair mechanism that advances understanding of how human cells stay healthy, and which could lead to new treatments for cancer and premature ...

Plastic Pollution Can Kill Variety of Ocean Embryos

Apr. 16, 2024 — High levels of plastic pollution can kill the embryos of a wide range of ocean animals, new research ...

Unlocking the 'Chain of Worms'

Apr. 15, 2024 — An international team of scientists has published a single-cell atlas for Pristina leidyi (Pristina), the water nymph worm, a segmented annelid with extraordinary regenerative abilities that has ...

Connecting the Dots to Shape Growth Forces

Mar. 28, 2024 — Branching patterns are prevalent in our natural environment and the human body, such as in the lungs and kidneys. For example, specific genes that express growth factor proteins are known to ...

Cell's 'Garbage Disposal' May Have Another Role: Helping Neurons Near Skin Sense the Environment

Apr. 12, 2024 — The typical job of the proteasome, the garbage disposal of the cell, is to grind down proteins into smaller bits and recycle some of those bits and ...

How Seaweed Became Multicellular

Apr. 12, 2024 — A deep dive into macroalgae genetics has uncovered the genetic underpinnings that enabled macroalgae, or 'seaweed,' to evolve multicellularity. Three lineages of macroalgae developed multicellularity ...

First Step to Untangle DNA: Supercoiled DNA Captures Gyrase Like a Lasso Ropes Cattle

Apr. 11, 2024 — Researchers reveal how DNA gyrase resolves DNA entanglements. The findings not only provide novel insights into this fundamental biological mechanism ...

Biofortified Rice to Combat Deficiencies

Apr. 11, 2024 — Vitamin B1 is an essential micronutrient for human beings. Its deficiency is the cause of numerous diseases of the nervous and cardiovascular systems. Researchers have achieved a significant advance ...

Cockayne Syndrome: New Insights Into Cellular DNA Repair Mechanism

Apr. 10, 2024 — Researchers decode repair mechanism during transcription of genetic ...

Machine Learning Method Reveals Chromosome Locations in Individual Cell Nucleus

Apr. 9, 2024 — Researchers have made a significant advancement toward understanding how the human genome is organized inside a single cell. This knowledge is crucial for analyzing how DNA structure influences gene ...

Different Means to the Same End: How a Worm Protects Its Chromosomes

Apr. 8, 2024 — Researchers have discovered that a worm commonly used in the study of biology uses a set of proteins unlike those seen in other studied organisms to protect the ends of its ...

Scientists Grow 'Mini Kidneys,' Revealing New Insights Into Metabolic Defects and Potential Therapy for Polycystic Kidney Disease

Apr. 8, 2024 — Scientists have successfully grown 'mini kidneys' in the lab and grafted them into live mice, revealing new insights into the metabolic defects and a potential therapy for polycystic kidney ...

Toothed Whale Echolocation Organs Evolved from Jaw Muscles

Apr. 8, 2024 — Genetic analysis finds evidence suggesting that acoustic fat bodies in the heads of toothed whales were once the muscles and bone marrow of the ...

Can Language Models Read the Genome? This One Decoded mRNA to Make Better Vaccines

Apr. 5, 2024 — Researchers developed a foundational language model to decode mRNA sequences and optimize those sequences for vaccine development. The tool shows broader promise as a means for studying molecular ...

New Tools Reveal How Genes Work and Cells Organize

Apr. 3, 2024 — Researchers have discovered how certain proteins can attach to special structures in RNA, called G-quadruplexes. Additionally, they have developed computational tools capable of predicting these ...

We've Had Bird Evolution All Wrong

Apr. 3, 2024 — Genomic anamolies dating back to the time of the dinosaurs misled scientists about the evolutionary history of ...

When Inequality Is More Than 'Skin-Deep': Social Status Leaves Traces in the Epigenome of Spotted Hyenas in Tanzania

Mar. 28, 2024 — A research consortium provides evidence that social behavior and social status are reflected at the molecular level of gene activation (epigenome) in juvenile and adult free-ranging spotted hyenas. ...

Cell Division Quality Control 'Stopwatch' Uncovered

Mar. 28, 2024 — Biologists have uncovered a quality control timing mechanism tied to cell division. The 'stopwatch' function keeps track of mitosis and acts as a protective measure when the process takes ...

Old Immune Systems Revitalized in Mouse Study, Improving Vaccine Response

Mar. 27, 2024 — Those with aging immune systems struggle to fight off novel viruses and respond weakly to vaccination. Researchers were able to revitalize the immune system in ...

GPT-4 for Identifying Cell Types in Single Cells Matches and Sometimes Outperforms Expert Methods

Mar. 25, 2024 — GPT-4 can accurately interpret types of cells important for the analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing -- a sequencing process fundamental to interpreting cell types -- with high consistency compared ...

As We Age, Our Cells Are Less Likely to Express Longer Genes

Mar. 21, 2024 — Aging may be less about specific 'aging genes' and more about how long a gene is. Many of the changes associated with aging could be occurring due to decreased expression of long genes, say ...

Research Finds a Direct Communication Path Between the Lungs and the Brain

Mar. 21, 2024 — New research finds a direct communication path between the lungs and the brain which may change the way we treat respiratory infections and chronic conditions. The lungs are using the same sensors ...

Decoding the Easter Bunny -- An Eastern Finnish Brown Hare to Represent the Standard for the Species' Genome

Mar. 20, 2024 — Biologists have published a chromosomally assembled reference genome for the European brown hare. The genome consists of 2.9 billion base pairs, which form 23 autosomal chromosomes, and X and Y sex ...

Genes Identified That Allow Bacteria to Thrive Despite Toxic Heavy Metal in Soil

Mar. 18, 2024 — Some soil bacteria can acquire sets of genes that enable them to pump the heavy metal nickel out of their systems, a study has found. This enables the bacteria to not only thrive in otherwise toxic ...

How Cells Are Ahead of the Curve

Mar. 18, 2024 — The curvature of a surface determines the migration behavior of biological cells. They preferentially move along valleys or grooves while avoiding ridges. These findings gave rise to a model ...

Machine Learning Classifier Accelerates the Development of Cellular Immunotherapies

Mar. 15, 2024 — Making a personalized T cell therapy for cancer patients currently takes at least six months. Scientists have shown that the laborious first step of identifying tumor-reactive T cell receptors for ...

New Study on Mating Behaviors Offers Clues Into the Evolution of Attraction

Mar. 14, 2024 — In examining the mating rituals of roundworms, researchers uncovered a unique approach to reproduction that maximizes genetic ...