all Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology stories

How does a worm build a throat?

404132862 — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:00:24 -0400

Mention worms to most people, and they probably think of fishing, gardening, or trips to the vet. Mention them to Susan E.

Chylack and Dowling named ARVO Fellows

50443248 — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:58:41 -0400

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) has named Harvard Professor of Ophthalmology Leo T. Chylack Jr., and Gordon and Llura Gund Professor of Neurosciences John E. Dowling as 2009 fellows. Chylack and Dowling will receive their fellowships in May at the annual ARVO meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Both have been named distinguished Gold Fellows, the highest-ranking fellowship, determined by a rigorous point system. Fellows are recognized for their accomplishments, leadership, and contributions to ARVO.

Diverse ‘connectomes’ hint at genes’ limits in the nervous system

404132862 — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:01:00 -0500

Genetics may play a surprisingly small role in determining the precise wiring of the mammalian nervous system, according to painstaking mapping of every neuron projecting to a small muscle mice use to move their ears. These first-ever mammalian “connectomes,” or complete neural circuit diagrams, reveal that neural wiring can vary widely even in paired tissues on the left and right sides of the same animal.

Neuroscience: Making connections: By turning neurons technicolour, Jeff Lichtman exposed the brain's wiring

404132862 — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:31:14 -0500

Another step forward in ALS and stem cell research

404132862 — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:03:53 -0500

A Harvard Stem Cell Institute research team has succeeded in deriving spinal motor neurons from human embryonic stem cells, and has then used them to replicate the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) disease process in a laboratory dish.

Another step forward in cell reprogramming

404132862 — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:40:45 -0400

Imagine, if you can, a day within the next decade when a physician-scientist could remove a skin cell from your arm, and with a few chemicals turn that fully formed adult cell into a dish of stem cells genetically matched to you.

Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers turn one form of adult mouse cell directly into another

404132862 — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:40:13 -0400

In a feat of biological prestidigitation likely to turn the field of regenerative medicine on its head, Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) co-director Doug Melton and post doctoral fellow Qiao "Joe" Zhou report having achieved what has long been a dream and ultimate goal of developmental biologists – directly turning one type of fully formed adult cell into another type of adult cell.

Driven:

404132862 — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:29:50 -0400

When the baby vomited again, Gail Melton knew something was seriously wrong with her second child, a son she and her husband, Doug Melton, had named Sam.

Astrocytes are rising stars (ScienceNews)

404132862 — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:05:33 -0400

Newly discovered class of mouse retinal cells detect upward motion

404132862 — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:10:06 -0400

Harvard researchers have discovered a previously unknown type of retinal cell that plays an exclusive and unusual role in mice: detecting upward motion. The cells reflect their function in the physical arrangement of their dendrites, branch-like structures on neuronal cells that form a communicative network with other dendrites and neurons in the brain.

The work, led by neuroscientists Joshua R. Sanes and Markus Meister, is described in a letter in the journal Nature.

President Faust testifies for increase in NIH funding

404132862 — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:02:07 -0400

With the careers of a generation of young researchers threatened by five years of flat National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, Harvard President Drew Faust and leaders of six other major research institutions were in Washington today (March 11) calling on Congress to repair the “Broken Pipeline” through which breakthroughs in the biomedical sciences should be flowing.

Massive decoding effort reveals fruit fly DNA

404132862 — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 12:13:51 -0500

An enormous effort to decode the DNA of one of the most important laboratory animals — the fruit fly — ended in success this week as a collaboration of researchers from 16 nations announced the sequencing of 10 fly species’ genomes.

The research allows the extraordinary side-by-side comparison of the DNA of 12 species of fruit flies — two had already been decoded — as scientists search to understand the workings of individual genes and how those genes translate into specific physical characteristics.

Researchers create colorful "Brainbow" images of the nervous system

404132862 — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:07:16 -0400

By activating multiple fluorescent proteins in neurons, neuroscientists at Harvard University are imaging the brain and nervous system as never before, rendering their cells in a riotous spray of colors dubbed a "Brainbow."

Basic understanding of biological clock advances

404132862 — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 20:54:53 -0400

Writing this week in the journal Science, researchers at Harvard describe what causes a trio of proteins, if placed in a test tube with the common biochemical fuel ATP as a source of phosphate, to function as a minimalist biological clock of sorts, maintaining an accurate circadian rhythm for long periods of time.

The new Harvard work builds upon research reported in 2005 by biologist Takao Kondo and colleagues at Nagoya University in Japan. That team initially reported that a circadian clock could be reconstituted in a test tube solely with three proteins and ATP.

Nine Harvard faculty members win NIH’s Pioneer, Innovator Awards

404132862 — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 16:16:46 -0400

Nine Harvard researchers "well-positioned to make significant - and potentially transformative - discoveries in a variety of areas," ranging from brain development to reprogramming stem cells, have been awarded special funding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The grants, announced Tuesday (Sept. 18), total $15 million over the next five years. They will be distributed through two NIH grant programs, both overseen by NIH Director Elias Zerhouni. One, the NIH Director's Pioneer Award, funds established researchers with $2.5 million each. The second, the Director's New Innovator Award, gives $1.5 million each to young, promising investigators.