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Developmental Biology
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New leadership
Solnica-Krezel to lead developmental biology department
Oct. 15,
2009 --
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| Solnica-Krezel |
Lilianna Solnica-Krezel has been named head of the Department of Developmental Biology at the School of Medicine. Larry J. Shapiro, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, announced the appointment, effective Jan.1.
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Red Alert
Skin's defense system may be link between childhood eczema and asthma
Aug. 27,
2009 --
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| Learning the language of cellular signaling: Mitsuru Morimoto, PhD, Shadmehr Demehri, PhD, and Raphael Kopan, PhD. |
Why do children with eczema so often get asthma? Experts in cellular signaling discovered how skin cells in danger might sound a body-wide alert. But lung cells in turn make an unfortunate response.
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The seeds of colon cancer
Scientists identify cells in fruit fly gut that start tumors
Aug. 17,
2009 -- Tumor growth can start from stem cells in the gut, say researchers studying fruit flies at the School of Medicine. They found that tumors can grow from adult stem cells that have lost a specific tumor-suppressor gene. The gene, Apc, has previously been implicated in human gastrointestinal cancers, including colon cancer.
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Chronic wounds sow cancer seeds
Mice with skin condition help scientists understand tumor growth
July 6,
2009 -- Cancerous tumors sometimes form at the site of chronic wounds or injury, but the reason why is not entirely clear. Now researchers at theSchool of Medicine have engineered mice with a persistent wound-like skin condition, and the mice are helping them understand the tumor-promoting effects of long-standing wounds and injuries.
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Nutrients help reduce risk of birth defects
Some neural tube defects in mice linked to enzyme deficiency
May 25,
2009 -- Women of childbearing age can reduce the risk of having a child born with a neural tube defect such as spina bifida by eating enough folate or folic acid. However, folate prevents only about 70 percent of these defects. New research using mice at the School of Medicine confirms the importance of another nutrient, inositol, to protect against the development of neural tube defects.
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The atopic march
Researchers discover why eczema often leads to asthma
May 18,
2009 --
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| Top: normal lungs. Bottom: asthmatic lungs. |
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Many young children who get a severe skin rash develop asthma months or years later. Doctors call the progression from eczema, or atopic dermatitis, to breathing problems the atopic march. Now scientists at the School of Medicine have uncovered what might be the key to atopic march. They've shown that a substance secreted by damaged skin circulates through the body and triggers asthmatic symptoms in allergen-exposed laboratory mice.
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Circadian clock's role in aging, metabolism
Ticking of body's 24-hour clock turns gears of metabolism and aging
March 19,
2009 -- All animals, including humans, have an internal 24-hour clock or circadian rhythm that creates a daily oscillation of body temperature, brain activity, hormone production and metabolism. Studying mice, researchers at the School of Medicine and Northwestern University found how the biological circadian clock mechanism communicates with processes that govern aging and metabolism.
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Pulling the plug on ailing nerve cells
Blocking protein may help ease painful nerve condition
March 15,
2009 --
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| Exposure to a chemotherapeutic drug makes the branches of a normal nerve cell degenerate (left). |
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Scientists have identified the first gene that pulls the plug on ailing nerve cell branches from within the nerve cell, possibly helping to trigger the painful condition known as neuropathy. The condition is a side effect of some forms of chemotherapy and can also afflict patients with cancer, diabetes, kidney failure, viral infections, neurodegenerative disorders and other ailments.
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Worm's low-oxygen survival skills may aid stroke, heart attack patients
Worm provides clues about preventing damage caused by low-oxygen during stroke, heart attack
Jan. 29,
2009 -- Neurobiologists at the School of Medicine have identified pathways that allow microscopic worms to survive in a low-oxygen, or hypoxic, environment. They believe the finding could have implications for conditions such as stroke, heart attack and cancer. Sensitivity to low oxygen helps determine how damaging those medical conditions can be.
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'Chips off the old block'
Plant polymerases IV and V are special forms of Polymerase II
Jan. 6,
2009 -- It's a little like finding out that Superman is actually Clark Kent. A team of biologists at Washington University in St. Louis has discovered that two vital cellular components, nuclear RNA Polymerases IV and V (Pol IV and V), found only in plants, are actually specialized forms of RNA Polymerase II, an essential enzyme of all eukaryotic organisms, including humans.
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