Neanderthals are the closest relatives to modern humans. Comparisons with them can therefore provide fascinating insights into what makes present-day humans unique, for example regarding the development of the brain. The ...
Evolution
Jul 29, 2022
0
521
"Outer Radial Glia" (oRG) cells are nervous system stem cells that are instrumental for the development of the human cortex and have been challenging to produce in the lab. Now, a team of Max Planck researchers from Berlin ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 23, 2022
0
101
The cnidocytes—or stinging cells—that are characteristic of sea anemones, hydrae, corals and jellyfish, and make us careful of our feet while wading in the ocean, are also an excellent model for understanding the emergence ...
Evolution
May 12, 2022
0
97
A group of rare diseases called "ciliopathies"—polycystic kidney disease notable among them—emerge from defects in cilia, the tiny hair-like structures on the surface of almost every cell type. But the specific molecular-level ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 27, 2022
0
60
Imagine you're baking a cake, but you run out of salt. Even with the missing ingredient, the batter still looks like cake batter, so you stick it in the oven and cross your fingers, expecting to end up with something pretty ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 28, 2022
1
168
Brain organoids are models of the brain made from growing stem cells like iPS cells into three-dimensional structures. They are used to study all sorts of brain-related phenomenon, including neural networks and disease development. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 28, 2021
0
56
Our DNA is very similar to that of the chimpanzee, which in evolutionary terms is our closest living relative. Stem cell researchers at Lund University in Sweden have now found a previously overlooked part of our DNA, so-called ...
Evolution
Oct 8, 2021
1
729
A new study is the first to identify how human brains grow much larger, with three times as many neurons, compared with chimpanzee and gorilla brains. The study, led by researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory ...
Evolution
Mar 24, 2021
1
691
During development, scores of molecular signals prod cells to take on specialized identities and functions. In response to some of these signals, the cellular machinery awakens specific genes called 'immediate early genes' ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Feb 19, 2021
0
89
One of the most remarkable recent advances in biomedical research has been the development of highly targeted gene-editing methods such as CRISPR that can add, remove, or change a gene within a cell with great precision. ...
Bio & Medicine
Oct 8, 2020
0
2159
