Latest Cellular processes Stories
While scientists have spent the past 40 years describing the intricate series of events that occur when one mammalian cell divides into two, they still haven't agreed on how the process begins.There are two seemingly contradictory theories, which now may be reconciled by a third theory being proposed by Duke University bioengineer Lingchong You. These findings could provide insights into the initiation of disease, such as cancer, which is marked by uncontrolled cell proliferation.During...
A protein linked to Parkinson's disease may cause neurodegeneration by inhibiting autophagy"”the process in which cells digest some of their contents"”according to a study in the September 20 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (www.jcb.org).Autophagy serves to clear a variety of toxic waste from cells, including misfolded proteins and defective mitochondria. These two types of cellular trash accumulate in neurons from Parkinson's patients, suggesting that autophagy could be impaired in...
New paper in Nature by Portuguese researchers provides light on paradox in cell biology worldIn the latest issue of the journal Nature, Miguel Godinho Ferreira, Principal Investigator at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC) in Portugal, lead a team of researchers to shed light on a paradox that has puzzled biologists since the discovery of telomeres, the protective tips of chromosomes: while broken chromosome ends generated by DNA damage (such as radiation or cigarette smoke) are...
Like some people, cells eat when they are under pressure"”but they consume parts of themselves. A multi-function protein helps control this form of cannibalism, according to a study in the September 6 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (www.jcb.org).Cells often respond to hunger or stress by digesting some of their contents. The process, known as autophagy, helps free nutrients and clean up cytoplasmic trash such as worn-out organelles and misshapen proteins. A team led by researchers at...
A UCSF-led team has discovered at least one key reason why blood stem cells are susceptible to developing the genetic mutations that can lead to adult leukemia. Their finding also may explain, they say, why some other age-related hematological disorders develop.The study, reported in "Cell Stem Cell" (Aug. 6, 2010) and reviewed in Cell Stem Cell and Cell, opens a new frontier for studying the molecular underpinnings of adult leukemia.The discovery also suggests a possible therapeutic...
A protein that plays a key role in regulating the onset of cell division has been identified as a potential target for the treatment of ovarian cancer. The research, published by Cell Press in the August issue of the journal Cancer Cell, provides evidence that combination therapies targeting different phases of the cell division cycle are highly desirable for optimal cancer treatment.Mitosis is one phase of the cell cycle that divides a single cell into two new but genetically identical...
Tissue regeneration a la salamanders and newts seems like it should be the stuff of science fiction. But it happens routinely. Why can't we mammals just re-grow a limb or churn out a few new heart muscle cells as needed? New research suggests there might be a very good reason: Restricting our cells' ability to pop in and out of the cell cycle at will "” a prerequisite for the cell division necessary to make new tissue "” reduces the chances that they'll run amok and form potentially...
Researchers reveal that JNK, a protein long known to help cells respond to stress, also controls cell cyclePut simply, a tumor is the result of out-of-control cell growth. To assure that the cell cycle "“ the cell's process of duplicating itself to make more cells "“ goes smoothly, a large network of proteins tells other proteins what to do and when to do it. When any of these layers of protein regulation fail, cell growth can get out of hand. A new study led by Ze'ev Ronai, Ph.D.,...
Findings may lead to new drug targetsA subtle mutation affecting the epigenome "“ a set of dynamic factors that influence gene activity -- may lead to an inherited form of mental retardation that affects boys, find researchers at Children's Hospital Boston. The disorder, which also involves cleft lip or cleft palate, appears to hinge on an enzyme working in a biological pathway that may offer several potential drug targets.The study, published online July 11 in the journal Nature, reveals...
It may seem intuitive that growth and development somehow go together so that plants and animals end up with the right number of cells in all the right places. But it is only now that scientists at the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy have gotten some of the first insights into how this critical coordination actually works in a plant.The answer is surprisingly simple.A well-known developmental protein called Short-root has been found to directly control the activity, in both...
