Small mechanical forces have big impact on embryonic stem cells
Applying a small mechanical force to embryonic stem cells could be a new way of coaxing them into a specific direction of differentiation, researchers at the University of Illinois report. Applications for force-directed cell differentiation include therapeutic cloning and regenerative medicine. view more (2009-10-19)
Dividing cells 'feel' their way out of warp
Every moment, millions of a body's cells flawlessly divvy up their genes and pinch perfectly in half to form two identical progeny for the replenishment of tissues and organs - even as they collide, get stuck, and squeeze through infinitesimally small spaces that distort their shapes. view more (2009-09-11)
St. Jude scientists discover a new mechanism controlling neuronal migration
The molecular machinery that helps brain cells migrate to their correct place in the developing brain has been identified by scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. view more (2009-07-16)
Intestinal cells surprisingly active in pursuit of nutrition and defense
Every cell lining the small intestine bristles with thousands of tightly packed microvilli that project into the gut lumen, forming a brush border that absorbs nutrients and protects the body from intestinal bacteria. view more (2009-06-29)
Muscle atrophy through thick but not thin
During desperate times, such as fasting, or muscle wasting that afflicts cancer or AIDS patients, the body cannibalizes itself, atrophying and breaking down skeletal muscle proteins to liberate amino acids. view more (2009-06-08)
Study offers clues to beating hearing loss
Researchers at the University of Leeds have made a significant step forward in understanding the causes of some forms of deafness. view more (2009-03-04)
Heart regenerates after infarction -- first trials with mice
Up until today scientists assumed that the adult heart is unable to regenerate. Now, researchers and cardiologists from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Germany) have been able to show that this dogma no longer holds true. view more (2008-12-12)
From mother to daughters: A central mystery in cell division solved
Researchers from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a key step required for cell division in a study that could help improve therapies to treat cancer. view more (2008-12-09)
Dense tissue promotes aggressive cancers
New research may explain why breast cancer tends to be more aggressive in women with denser breast tissue. Breast cancer cells grown in dense, rigid surroundings step up their invasive activities, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators report in the Sept. 9 issue of Current Biology. view more (2008-08-25)
Molecular motor works by detecting minute changes in force
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that the activity of a specific family of nanometer-sized molecular motors called myosin-I is regulated by force. The motor puts tension on cellular springs that allow vibrations to be detected within the body. view more (2008-07-10)
UIC researchers make promising finding in severe lung disease
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have identified a novel function for an enzyme that plays a role in the tissue injury in acute respiratory distress syndrome, also known as ARDS. view more (2008-06-30)
Ancient protein offers clues to killer condition
More than 600 million years of evolution has taken two unlikely distant cousins - turkeys and scallops - down very different physical paths from a common ancestor. But University of Leeds researchers have found that a motor protein, myosin 2, remains structurally identical in both creatures. view more (2008-05-13)
The Structural Basis of Familial Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy is Revealed
Familial Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (FHC), the leading cause of sudden death in athletes and young people, is a genetic disorder of the heart that is characterized by an increased thickness in tissue of the left ventricle. view more (2007-11-12)
A stepwise retreat: how immune cells catch pathogens
To protect us from disease our immune system employs macrophages, cells that roam our body in search of disease-causing bacteria. view more (2007-07-12)
Molecular motors may speed nutrient processing
Matthew Tyska, Ph.D., recalls being intrigued, from the first day of his postdoctoral fellowship in 1999, with a nearly 30-year-old photograph. It was an electron micrograph that showed the internal structures of an intestinal cell microvillus, a finger-like protrusion on the cell surface. Microvilli are common features on the epithelial cells... view more... (2007-05-31)
Researchers find level of special protein is critical to proper formation of muscles
Proper formation of the proteins that power heart and skeletal muscle seems to rely on a precise concentration of a "chaperone" protein known as UNC-45, according to a new study. view more (2007-04-25)
Tiny molecule controls stress-induced heart disease
A tiny snippet of RNA, a chemical cousin of DNA, controls damage to the heart under several types of stress, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found. view more (2007-03-23)
'Muscle' protein drives prostate cancer
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have for the first time implicated the muscle protein myosin VI in the development of prostate cancer and its spread. view more (2006-11-09)
Adult stem cells are touchy-feely, need environmental clues
A certain type of adult stem cell can turn into bone, muscle, neurons or other types of tissue depending on the "feel" of its physical environment. view more (2006-08-25)
Discovery of agile molecular motors could aid in treating motor neuron diseases
Over the last several months, the labs of Yale Goldman, MD, PhD, Director of the Pennsylvania Muscle Institute at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and Erika Holzbaur, PhD, Professor of Physiology, have published a group of papers that, taken together, show proteins that function as molecular motors are surprisingly flexible and... view more... (2006-07-18)
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