Developmental Biology News

July 26, 2024

Top Headlines

Lampreys Possess a 'Jaw-Dropping' Evolutionary Origin

July 26, 2024 — Lampreys are one of only two living jawless vertebrates Jaws are formed by a key stem cell population called the neural crest New research reveals the gene regulatory changes that may explain morphological differences between jawed and jawless ...

Controlling Mosquito Populations Through Genetic Breeding

July 22, 2024 — Researchers have found a new way to identify genetic targets useful for control of mosquito populations, potentially offering an alternative to insecticides. Their study focused on the genetic basis of species incompatibility. They crossed Ae. ...

New Groups of Methane-Producing Organisms in Yellowstone

July 24, 2024 — The team verified that microbes found in Yellowstone National Park hot springs produce methane to ...

Transient Structure in Fly Leg Holds Clue to Insect Shape Formation

July 22, 2024 — A little leg may reveal something big about how closely related insect species can drastically differ in body shape, according to a new study. The team imaged live cells of fruit flies in the last stages of development over several days and found a ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:11pm EDT

Fruit Fly Post-Mating Behavior Controlled by Male-Derived Peptide Via Command Neurons, Study Finds

July 23, 2024 — Scientists have succeeded in pinpointing the neurons within a female fruit fly's brain that respond to signals from the male during ...

Researchers Are Closing in on a Mouse Model for Late-Onset Alzheimer's

July 24, 2024 — Researchers are working to create the first strain of mice that's genetically susceptible to late-onset Alzheimer's, with potentially transformative implications for dementia ...

Research Sheds Light on the Role of PTPRK in Tissue Repair and Cancer

July 24, 2024 — New research has advanced our knowledge of multiple roles for PTPRK, a receptor tyrosine phosphatase linked to the regulation of cell-cell adhesion, growth factor signalling and tumor suppression. ...

Dual Action Antibiotic Could Make Bacterial Resistance Nearly Impossible

July 23, 2024 — New drug that disrupts two cellular targets would make it much harder for bacteria to evolve ...

Unique Characteristics of Previously Unexplored Protein Discovered

July 16, 2024 — Research achieves scientific breakthrough in understanding cell ...

Ancient Microbes Offer Clues to How Complex Life Evolved

July 16, 2024 — Researchers have discovered that a single-celled organism, a close relative of animals, harbors the remnants of ancient giant viruses woven into its own genetic code. This finding sheds light on how ...

Big Boost for New Epigenetics Paradigm: CoRSIVs, First Discovered in Humans, Now Found in Cattle

July 14, 2024 — A study opens new possibilities to improve production efficiency in the cattle industry and potentially animal agriculture more ...

Genome Recording Makes Living Cells Their Own Historians

July 17, 2024 — Genomes can now be used to store information about a variety of transient biological events inside of living cells, as they happen, like a flight recorder collecting data from an aircraft. The ...

Ancient Viruses Fuel Modern-Day Cancers

July 17, 2024 — The human genome is filled with flecks of DNA left behind by viruses that infected primate ancestors tens of millions of years ago. Scientists used to think they were harmless, but new research shows ...

Muscle Machine: How Water Controls the Speed of Muscle Contraction

July 11, 2024 — The flow of water within a muscle fiber may dictate how quickly muscle can contract, according to a new ...

New Ways to Study Spinal Cord Malformations in Embryos

July 12, 2024 — Scientists have successfully created mechanical force sensors directly in the developing brains and spinal cords of chicken embryos, which they hope will improve understanding and prevention of birth ...

Opening the Right Doors: 'Jumping Gene' Control Mechanisms Revealed

July 11, 2024 — International joint research led by Akihisa Osakabe and Yoshimasa Takizawa of the University of Tokyo has clarified the molecular mechanisms in thale cresses (Arabidopsis thaliana) by which the DDM1 ...

First Ever 3D Reconstruction of 52,000-Year-Old Woolly Mammoth Chromosomes Thanks to Serendipitously Freeze-Dried Skin

July 11, 2024 — An international research team has assembled the genome and 3D chromosomal structures of a 52,000-year-old woolly mammoth -- the first time such a feat has been achieved for any ancient DNA sample. ...

Phage-Derived Enzyme Targets E. Faecalis Biofilms to Mitigate Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease

July 11, 2024 — Acute graft-versus-host disease occurs when donor immune cells attack the recipient's tissues after an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT). Researchers recently ...

New One-Step Method to Make Multiple Edits to a Cell's Genome

July 9, 2024 — A team of scientists have developed a new method that enables them to make precise edits in multiple locations within a cell -- all at once. Using molecules called retrons, they created a tool that ...

Not So Selfish After All: Viruses Use Freeloading Genes as Weapons

July 4, 2024 — Certain pieces of DNA have been labeled as 'selfish genetic elements' due to notions that they don't contribute to a host organism's survival. Instead, researchers have now ...

Researchers Uncover Key Mechanisms in Chromosome Structure Development

July 3, 2024 — Researchers are making strides in understanding how chromosome structures change throughout the cell's life ...

A New Breakthrough in Understanding Regeneration in a Marine Worm

July 2, 2024 — The sea worm Platynereis dumerilii is only a few centimeters long but has a remarkable ability: in just a few days, it can regenerate entire parts of its body after an injury or amputation. By ...

Research Shows How RNA 'Junk' Controls Our Genes

July 2, 2024 — Researchers have made a significant advance in understanding how genes are controlled in living organisms. The new study focuses on critical snippets of RNA in the tiny, transparent roundworm ...

Researchers Thwart Resistant Bacteria's Strategy

July 1, 2024 — Bacteria are experts at evolving resistance to antibiotics. One resistance strategy is to cover their cell walls in sticky and gooey biofilm that antibiotics cannot penetrate. A new discovery could ...

New, Holistic Way to Teach Synthetic Biology

June 27, 2024 — Synthetic biology combines principles from science, engineering and social science, creating emerging technologies such as alternative meats and mRNA vaccines; Deconstructing synthetic biology across ...

From Takeoff to Flight, the Wiring of a Fly's Nervous System Is Mapped

June 26, 2024 — Although a fly's motor neurons are few, it performs remarkable aerial and terrestrial feats. A wiring diagram recently created of the motor circuits in the central nervous system of the fruit ...

Cell Division: Before Commitment, a Very Long Engagement

June 26, 2024 — Before a cell commits fully to the process of dividing itself into two new cells, it may ensure the appropriateness of its commitment by staying for many hours -- sometimes more than a day -- in a ...

The on-and-Off Affair in DNA

June 26, 2024 — Researchers have discovered that in thale cresses histone H3 lysine-9 (H3K9) methylation, conventionally thought to be a mark of turning off gene transcription, can also turn on gene expression via ...

Slipping a Note to a Neighbor: The Cellular Way

June 26, 2024 — Study reveals how drug molecules bind in channels between neighboring cells, changing intercellular ...

Zebrafish Reveal How Bioelectricity Shapes Muscle Development

June 26, 2024 — New research describes how nerve cells and muscle cells communicate through electrical signals during development -- a phenomenon known as bioelectricity. The communication, which takes place via ...

Discovery of Vast Sex Differences in Cellular Activity Has Major Implications for Disease Treatment

June 25, 2024 — The study reveals vast differences in gene activity within the mitochondria of males compared to females. This is the first study to test effects of all 37 genes in the mitochondrial genome -- genes ...

How Cells Boost Gene Expression

June 24, 2024 — The function of non-coding RNA in the cell has long been a mystery to researchers. Unlike coding RNA, non-coding RNA does not produce proteins -- yet it exists in large quantities. A research team ...

How to Make Aging a 'Fairer Game' for All Wormkind

June 21, 2024 — Researchers have discovered a new fundamental mechanism governing the rules of ageing in worms. The researchers were able to manipulate the mechanism through genetic interventions which dramatically ...

Where to Put Head and Tail?

June 18, 2024 — Formation of the body axes is a critical part of embryonic development. They guarantee that all body parts end up where they belong and that no ears grow on our backs. The head-tail axis, for ...