Biology Cell biology

Cells replicate their genetic material and divide into two identical clones to perpetuate life. Some cells pause in the process with a single, undivided nucleus. When the cell resumes division after such a pause, the nucleus can become caught in the fissure, splitting violently, and killing both cells. But that is not always the case. Researchers from Hiroshima University in Japan are starting to understand how active nuclear displacement rescues cell death.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Clinical Cancer Research that in the most common type of lung cancer, certain secondary mutations occurring with another gene alteration known as ALK make the efficacy of alectinib, an otherwise commonly used drug for treating lung cancer, become unfavorable. Combining alectinib with another kind of drug can overcome this adverse effect, however.

New ‘armoured’ T cells attack cancer without being suppressed by drugs given to transplant patients to avoid organ rejection.

Preventing Wnt from hitching a ride may offer new avenue for novel treatments for cancer and fibrosis.

Investigations of a cellular protein have uncovered a possible link with schizophrenia.

iCeMS scientists have revealed how a transporter protein twists and squeezes compounds out of cells, including chemotherapy drugs from some cancer cells.

A transporter protein that regulates cell membrane cholesterol likely played an important role in vertebrate evolution, according to a review published by iCeMS researchers in the journal FEBS Letters.

Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) researchers gain deeper insight into a cell membrane channel, with potential implications for drug development.

Cancer is a disease driven by mutations that alter the way biochemical signals control cell growth, division and migration. Scientists at Duke-NUS Medical School found out that, like Goldilocks, cancer is very picky about getting rapid growth just right.

A repetitive DNA sequence that causes health risks when it malfunctions can now be watched inside living cells using a synthetic tool

Testing for mutations in RNF43, a protein that affects key cancer cell-growth pathway Wnt, gives clinicians actionable insights to tailor treatments better.

A recent study, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has proposed a new technique that controls the spatiotemporal resolution of Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM) within a single image.

Scientists have revealed the molecular mechanism regulating the trafficking of lysosomes that increases the invasiveness of radioresistant cancer cells following radiotherapy.

Osaka City University detects cancer cells in 2ml blood samples and connects them back to their origin tumor – creating a new diagnostic tool that may aid in quicker and more accurate anti-cancer measures.

Researchers at Kanazawa University and University of California, San Francisco report in Science that arbitrary proteins, when combined with anchoring and receptor proteins, can work as a signaling protein “morphogen” capable of engineered spatial patterning.

Collaboration by researchers in Singapore and Australia lead to first-of-its-kind computational biology algorithm that could enable more effective cellular therapies against major diseases.

A new apparatus improves how we study the effects of aiming high-field terahertz radiation at cells, with implications for regenerative medicine.

Scientists have found an ingredient that makes a vaccine more effective through an approach more often seen in materials science – testing molecules that self-assemble into larger structures.

Scientists have identified key molecules that mediate radioresistance in glioblastoma multiforme; these molecules are a potential target for the treatment of this brain cancer.

Drugs tackling chronic myelogenous leukemia have completely transformed prognoses of patients over the last couple of decades, with most cases going into remission. But drug resistance can occur, leading to relapses. Targeting the lipids involved in regulating part of a leukemia stem cell’s life span offers a potential second route to defeat the disease—and solid tumorous cancers as well.

A team of scientists has unraveled the molecular mechanism behind one of the causes of colorectal cancer, and a treatment target.

Scientists review macrophage activation syndrome — a feature of the cytokine storm that kills patients with severe cases of COVID-19, as well as possible treatments.

Scientists are learning about species adaptation by comparing their stem cell-related genes.

Pregnant mice fed diets high in omega-6 fats and low in omega-3 fats are shown in a new study to produce offspring whose brains had a higher level of dopamine-producing neurons—the neurological reward system. These mice went on to chase hyper-caloric diets, suggesting that the fats in a pregnant mother's diet may control the eating habits of her children, and potentially offering a new obesity-prevention strategy.

Hokkaido University scientists have shown that Interleukin-34 is a prognostic marker and drug target for Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Biomaterials a high-speed atomic-force microscopy study of protein filaments in the nuclear pore complex. The visualization in real-time of the filaments’ dynamics is an important step in our understanding of molecular transport mechanisms between a cell nucleus and its surrounding medium.

A method that involves infecting liver cells with mosquito-bred parasites could improve the study of malaria in India.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in the Biophysical Journal that the process of cell removal from an epithelial layer follows from an inherent mechanical instability. Moreover, the forces generated by an extruding cell can drive the extrusion of other cells in a particular direction.

A highly accurate machine learning tool could help doctors tailor individualized treatments for people with glioma brain tumours.

In a recent study published in Molecular Cell, researchers at Kanazawa University report the role of cellular structures called PML bodies in regulating gene function