Biology News Net - Molecular & Cell Biology

The proteins that domesticated our genomes

Wed, 08 Mar 2017 14:29:56 -0500

EPFL scientists have carried out a genomic and evolutionary study of a large and enigmatic family of human proteins, to demonstrate that it is responsible for harnessing the millions of transposable elements in the human genome. The work reveals the largely species-specific gene-regulatory networks that impact all of human biology, in both health and disease.

Human kidney progenitors isolated, offering new clues to cell renewal

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 18:22:33 -0500

In a first-of-its-kind look at human kidney development, researchers at The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles have isolated human nephron progenitor (NP) cells. Their results, published online in the journal Stem Cell Translational Medicine, will help scientists understand how these progenitor cells become renal cells in the developing fetus, and possibly offer a future way to foster renal regeneration after chronic kidney failure or acute injury.

Scientists uncover the way a common cell enzyme alerts the body to invading bacteria

Wed, 24 Aug 2016 19:26:45 -0500

Biomedical investigators at Cedars-Sinai have identified an enzyme found in all human cells that alerts the body to invading bacteria and jump-starts the immune system.

Calcium channel blockers caught in the act at atomic level

Wed, 24 Aug 2016 19:26:44 -0500

Atomic resolution studies of two common calcium channel blockers, one that treats irregular heart beats, and another that controls high blood pressure and angina An atomic level analysis has revealed how two classes of calcium channel blockers, widely prescribed for heart disease patients, produce separate therapeutic effects through their actions at different sites on the calcium channel molecule.

Genetic regulation of the thymus function identified

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 18:24:07 -0500

A single thymic epithelial cell (red) in contact with developing T cells (white). Researchers at the universities of Basel and Oxford have for the first time identified all genes regulated by the protein Foxn1. The results show that Foxn1 not only plays a crucial role in development of the thymus in the embryo, but it also regulates vital functions in the developed, postnatal organ. The decryption of the protein's functions is important in the understanding and treatment of autoimmune diseases, vaccination responses in old age and defense against tumor cells. The study was published in the journal Nature Immunology.

Nobel laureate, new technologies show how cancer cells protect chromosomes from decay

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 18:02:35 -0500

Protective telomeres are augmented by freely diffusing telomerase. As the rope of a chromosomes replicates, it frays at the ends. No problem: A chromosome's ends have extra twine so that fraying doesn't reach into the body of the rope where the important information resides. This extra twine is called a "telomere". Over time and across replications, this telomere twine breaks down until the chromosome loses its protective ends and this "fraying" reaches into the rope, wrecking the chromosome and resulting in the death of the cell.

A molecular alarm clock awakens resting ovules

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 18:43:29 -0500

Ovarian follicle of fruit fly, with chromosomes stained in green and dKDM5 protein stained in red. At the start of reproductive life an ovary contains, on average, several thousands of immature ovules in a resting state that can last for several decades. But how does each resting ovule know that it is time to prepare for ovulation? In a study published in the latest issue of Nature Communications*, researchers at Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia (IGC; Portugal), at University of Algarve (Portugal), and at University at Albany (USA) discovered in the fruit fly a molecular "alarm clock" that tells resting ovules when is the right time to wake up. Defects in this alarm clock result in female fertility problems.

Neuron unites 2 theoretical models on motion detection

Wed, 10 Aug 2016 17:54:31 -0500

The fly brain recognizes and processes movements very quickly and accurately. As indicated by their name, photoreceptor cells in the eye respond to light: is an image point bright or dark? They do not indicate the direction of a movement. This perception only arises in the brain through the comparative computations of light signals coming from adjacent image points. Engineers, physicists and neurobiologists have been debating the exact nature of these computations for around 50 years. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology have now combined two theories about these computations, which were previously considered to be alternative hypotheses - and discovered that they are carried out in a single neuron.

Scientific serendipity yields new neuron type in mouse retina

Mon, 08 Aug 2016 17:16:50 -0500

3-D reconstruction of a GluMI cell at the ultrastructural level showing its input (magenta puncta) and output (yellow puncta) obtained using serial block face scanning electron microscopy. In the retina of mice, a new type of neuron that falls outside century-old classifications has been discovered.

Duke team identifies new 'mega-complex' involved in cell signaling

Thu, 04 Aug 2016 18:02:58 -0500

Duke Health-led researchers have discovered new information about the signaling mechanism of cells that could one day help guide development of more specific drug therapies.