#developmental cell

[naivelocus]

Microtubule Sliding within the Bridging Fiber Pushes Kinetochore Fibers Apart to Segregate Chromosomes

The forces that drive chromosome segregation in mitosis in human cells remain poorly understood. Vukušić, Buđa et al. combine laser ablation, photoactivation, and theory to uncover a key role for bridging fibers, non-kinetochore microtubule bundles, in spindle pole separation. Forces from kinetochore and bridging fiber crosslinking contribute to chromosome segregation. — Developmental Cell

[scitechman]

Novel gene regulatory mechanism in bone formation and its evolutionary significance

Novel gene regulatory mechanism in bone formation and its evolutionary significance

A collaborative research group from the University of Tokyo and University of Southern California has identified a mode of action of Sp7/osterix, a transcriptional regulator necessary for bone formation, by examining how Sp7/osterix-mediated genetranscription is regulated over the whole genome in osteoblasts. This finding will contribute to the understanding of diseases of the skeleton and…

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[scitechman]

A Muscle is Born

A Muscle is Born

A Technion study sheds light on the embryonic development of the connection between muscles and tendons, which is vital to the organism’s motor activity A study conducted by Assistant Prof. Peleg Hasson at the Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and recently published in Developmental Cell sheds light on the embryonic development of the muscle-tendon interface, the myotendinous junction,…

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[scitechman]

Building intestinal brush borders

Building intestinal brush borders

The epithelial cells that line our intestines build a special surface called the “brush border,” which is critical for absorbing nutrients and defending against pathogens.

Matthew Tyska, Ph.D., and colleagues previously discovered that the brush border’s densely packed microvilli – finger-like membrane protrusions – are connected to each other via cadherin adhesion molecules. Now, the…

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[scitechman]

A multitool for cells

A multitool for cells

A frequent problem faced by cells is that they are surrounded by a promising cloud of scent and must determine the direction of its source. Nerve cells, for example, form long extensions that are attracted to signals from other cells in order to produce the network that forms the nervous system; similarly, scavenger cells recognise the scent of harmful germs in order that they can pursue and…

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[botanytoo]

Grow with the flow…

Grow with the flow…

Image: William Hogarth, frontispiece for Henry Fielding. The tragedy of tragedies; or the life and death of Tom Thumb the Great. London: printed for Harrison and Co., 1731.

A short item this, but one that has a cytoskeleton dimension and which just goes to show the impact that this cell component has on plant growth and development, and often in surprising ways.

Adding to that catalogue of…

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[lovelessradio]

by Heidi Hehnly