http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch, who helped transform the study of genetics by creating the first transgenic mouse in 1974, is again revolutionizing how genetically altered animal models are created and perhaps even redefining what species may serve as models. http://phys.org/news286712633.html Biology Thu, 02 May 2013 12:00:02 EST news286712633 Researchers at RIKEN BioResource Center and their colleagues identified a gene required for growth and differentiation of pluripotential cells in the mouse embryos. The gene, Vps52, is a mouse homolog of yeast VPS52 that is thought to be involved in the retrograde endocytic trafficking. The research group found that Vps52 promotes differentiation of pluripotential cells including ES cells via cell-cell interactions, revealing hitherto unknown functions of Vps52 in development of a multicellular organism. The findings, which appear in the journal Cell Reports, should provide clues to the interrelations between endocytic machinery and developmental cell signaling in mammalian embryos, and also contribute to development of technologies that facilitates manipulation of pluripotent stem cells such as ES (embryonic stem) cells and iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells. http://phys.org/news271668619.html Biology Fri, 09 Nov 2012 07:40:02 EST news271668619 Producing retinal tissue from human embryonic stem cells is now possible thanks to a team of researchers led by Yoshiki Sasai of the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan. http://phys.org/news270981798.html Biology Thu, 01 Nov 2012 10:00:01 EST news270981798 With their potential to treat a wide range of diseases and uncover fundamental processes that lead to those diseases, embryonic stem (ES) cells hold great promise for biomedical science. A number of hurdles, both scientific and non-scientific, however, have precluded scientists from reaching the holy grail of using these special cells to treat heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's and other diseases. http://phys.org/news258826565.html Biology Wed, 13 Jun 2012 17:17:56 EST news258826565 Tweaking the levels of factors used during the reprogramming of adult cells into induced pluriopotent stem (iPS) cells greatly affects the quality of the resulting iPS cells, according to Whitehead Institute researchers. http://phys.org/news241965611.html Biology Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:40:01 EST news241965611 Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, Kobe, have shown that neurons called Purkinje cells can not only be generated from embryonic stem (ES) cells, but can also become fully integrated into existing neuronal circuits when transplanted into the brains of mouse fetuses. http://phys.org/news208177327.html Medicine & Health Fri, 05 Nov 2010 12:02:46 EST news208177327 Human embryonic stem (ES) cells and adult cells reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell-like state—so-called induced pluripotent stem or iPS cells—exhibit very few differences in their gene expression signatures and are nearly indistinguishable in their chromatin state, according to Whitehead Institute researchers. http://phys.org/news200224498.html Biology Thu, 05 Aug 2010 12:00:20 EST news200224498 Scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and their colleagues from the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School and Princeton University have recently discovered that viruses that 'invaded' the human genome millions of years ago have changed the way genes get turned on and off in human embryonic stem (ES) cells. http://phys.org/news195129587.html Medicine & Health Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:50:01 EST news195129587 Researchers at the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, have discovered a key to embryonic stem (ES) cell rejuvenation in a gene -- Zscan4 -- as reported in the March 24, 2010, online issue of Nature. This breakthrough finding could have major implications for aging research, stem cell biology, regenerative medicine and cancer biology. http://phys.org/news188657237.html Biology Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:00:18 EST news188657237 Scientists have successfully created the first induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines from adult monkey skin cells. The research, published by Cell Press in the December issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, demonstrates that the method of direct reprogramming is conserved among species and may be useful for creation of clinically valuable primate models for human diseases. http://phys.org/news147532651.html Biology Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:17:31 EST news147532651