Cell Biology News

October 1, 2016

How to Be a Male Without the Y Chromosome

Genes Underlying Dogs' Warmth

Rare Flu-Thwarting Mutation Discovered

New Theory On How Life Began On Earth

Latest Headlines

updated 6:26pm EDT

With Worrisome Animal Research, More Focus Needed on Effects of Cannabis on Human Development

Sep. 30, 2016 — In this new era of legalized marijuana, far too little research has been conducted on the effect of cannabis on the development of human embryos, say ... read more

New Way to Open Insects' Exoskeletons for Study

Sep. 28, 2016 — Insects are tough animals to study. One reason is their armor-like coating, called an exoskeleton, which protects their organs. Researchers have discovered a technique to ... read more

Lake Brownification, Eutrophication Decrease the Content of Essential Fatty Acids in Fish Used in Human Diets

Sep. 30, 2016 — Eutrophication and brownification change phytoplankton community structure and decrease the production of essential omega-3 fatty acids in lakes. ... read more

Plants: Defying Frost and the Cold With Hormones

Sep. 28, 2016 — Plants cannot simply relocate to better surroundings when their environmental conditions are no longer suitable. Instead, they have developed sophisticated molecular adaptation mechanisms. Scientists ... read more

Consumption of a Bioactive Compound from Neem Plant Could Significantly Suppress Development of Prostate Cancer

Sep. 29, 2016 — Oral administration of nimbolide, over 12 weeks shows reduction of prostate tumor size by up to 70 per cent and decrease in ... read more

Simulations Help Explain How Genomes Take Form of 3-D Chromosomes

Sep. 26, 2016 — Scientists trying to solve the ultimate puzzle -- the architecture of the human genome -- have snapped another piece into place. They have developed a model to explain one part of the mechanism, the ... read more

New Insight Into Eye Diseases

Sep. 28, 2016 — Many diseases that lead to blindness, such as glaucoma and macular degeneration, are caused by the death of certain cells in the human retina that lack the ability to ... read more

Researchers Modify Yeast to Show How Plants Respond to a Key Hormone

Sep. 27, 2016 — Researchers have developed a novel toolkit based on modified yeast cells to tease out how plant genes and proteins respond to auxin, the most ubiquitous plant hormone. Their ... read more

Toxins from Food Mold Weaken Airways' Defenses to Cause More Damage

Sep. 27, 2016 — Toxins from mold found growing on nuts or corn can weaken the airways’ self-clearing mechanisms and immunity, opening the door for respiratory diseases and exacerbating existing ones, suggests a ... read more

The Spice of Life: Cinnamon Cools Your Stomach

Sep. 26, 2016 — Adding cinnamon to your diet can cool your body by up to two degrees, according to research. And the spice may also contribute to a general improvement in overall health, say authors of a new ... read more

Healing Horses With Stem Cells

NASA's DNA Sequencer Could Be A 'Game Changer' For Long-Term Missions

Say Hello to Heirs of Dolly

Pomegranates May Help Reverse Muscle Aging, Say Researchers

Advancing Non-Animal Testing Methods: First Set of Novel Knowledge Tools Published

Sep. 30, 2016 — An adverse outcome pathway, or AOP, is a highly structured way of describing a toxicological process which can lead to an adverse health effect in humans or wildlife, caused by an unsafe exposure to ... read more

Structure of the BinAB Toxin Revealed

Sep. 29, 2016 — Could we get rid of mosquitoes without polluting the environment? Yes, we can, say researchers. The BinAB toxin, produced in crystal form by a bacterium, specifically kills the larvae of Culex and ... read more

Scientists Reveal How Signals from Pathogenic Bacteria Reach Danger Sensors of Cells

Sep. 29, 2016 — An essential protein induced by the signaling protein interferon is needed to activate danger-sensing proteins in the cytoplasm of cells, scientists describe in a new ... read more

Cells Migrate Collectively by Intermittent Bursts of Activity

Sep. 29, 2016 — Cell migration is a central process in the development and maintenance of multicellular organisms. Researchers have now discovered that this motion occurs by intermittent bursts of activity. It can ... read more

New 'Layer' of Fungi Exposed

Sep. 28, 2016 — In order to optimally utilize fungi, and to fight them when necessary, we require greater insight into the functions that they can perform. Researchers have exposed a new layer of functional ... read more

New Switch Decides Between Genome Repair, Death of Cells

Sep. 27, 2016 — The genetic information of every cell is encoded in the sequence of the DNA double helix. Double strand breaks in the DNA, which can be induced by radiation, are a dangerous threat to the cells, and ... read more

Ancient Eggshell Protein Breaks Through DNA Time Barrier

Sep. 27, 2016 — Scientists have identified fossil proteins in a 3.8 million year-old ostrich eggshell, suggesting that proteins could provide valuable new insights into the evolutionary tree, much further back in ... read more

Blue Stoplight to Prevent Runaway Photosynthesis

Sep. 27, 2016 — An international team using the green alga Chlamydomonas as a model has found a switch that triggers the suppression mechanism to prevent runaway photosynthesis. The switch is a blue light ... read more

Fecal Bacteria Linked to Body Fat

Sep. 26, 2016 — A new link between the diversity of bacteria in human poo -- known as the human fecal microbiome -- and levels of abdominal body fat, has been identified by scientists. The research provides further ... read more

Life in Ancient Oceans Enabled by Erosion from Land

Sep. 26, 2016 — As scientists continue finding evidence for life in the ocean more than 3 billion years ago, those ancient fossils pose a paradox that raises questions about whether there was more land mass than ... read more

Yeast Knockouts Peel Back Secrets of Cell Protein Function

Sep. 26, 2016 — To fill in the blanks on mitochondria, researchers deleted 174 genes, one by one, in yeast. They then subjected the yeast to high-intensity mass spectrometry to measure unprecedented detail on ... read more

How the Anthrax Toxin Forms a Deadly 'Conveyer Belt'

Sep. 26, 2016 — Researchers have built a three-dimensional map of the anthrax toxin that may explain how it efficiently transfers its lethal components into the cytoplasm of infected cells. The study suggests that ... read more

Shape-Shifters Found in the Belt Supergroup: Revelations About Tappania Plana

Sep. 25, 2016 — The rise of eukaryotic organisms (organisms with complex cells, or a single cell with a complex structure) is still a mystery, but researchers have compelling evidence that Tappania plana may ... read more

Melatonin, Biological Clock Keep Singing Fish on Time

Sep. 23, 2016 — In the 1980s, people living on houseboats in the San Francisco Bay were puzzled by a droning hum of unknown origin that started abruptly in the late evening and stopped suddenly in the morning. A ... read more

To Produce Biopharmaceuticals on Demand, Just Add Water

Sep. 23, 2016 — Researchers have created tiny freeze-dried pellets that include all of the molecular machinery needed to translate DNA into proteins, which could form the basis for on-demand production of drugs and ... read more

Landmark Map Reveals the Genetic Wiring of Cellular Life

Sep. 23, 2016 — A new map breaks away from the old way of studying genes one at a time, showing how genes interact in groups to shed light on the genetic roots of ... read more

Lipid Receptor Fosters Infection of the Uterus in Bitches

Sep. 23, 2016 — In the female dog, cells of the uterus can accumulate lipid droplets to form so-called foamy epithelial cells during late metoestrus. These cells produce a hormone that is involved in the ... read more

Alternative Oxidase from a Marine Animal Works in Mammals, Combats Bacterial Sepsis

Sep. 23, 2016 — Mitochondrial alternative oxidase from a sea-squirt works as a safety valve for stressed mitochondria. This property enables it to stop the runaway inflammatory process that leads to multiple organ ... read more

Peeling Back the Layers: Scientists Use New Techniques to Uncover Hidden Secrets of Plant Stem Development

Sep. 22, 2016 — Innovative new cell imaging techniques have now been pioneered to shed light on cells hidden deep inside the meristem. This new development has made it possible to explore further below the outer ... read more

New Model Could Point Way to Microbiome Forecasting in the Ocean

Sep. 22, 2016 — A new mathematical model integrates environmental and molecular sequence information to better explain how microbial networks drive nutrient and energy cycling in marine ... read more

Friday, September 30, 2016