Making a brain
A long-standing paradigm in developmental biology has been that default neuralization (ie., the differentiation of dissociated ectodermal cells to neural cells in culture) is caused by the dilution and thereby suppression of BMP growth factor signaling.
Dr. Edward De Robertis and colleagues now show that, contrary to this traditional belief, BMP signaling is, in fact, sustained at comparable levels in dissociated ectodermal cells as in intact Xenopus embryos.
The researchers find that it is the activation of Ras/MAPK signaling, and subsequent cross-talk between the MAPK and BMP signaling pathways that promotes a neural fate. “The work is important because it helps explain not only how the brain is formed, but also how multiple cell signaling pathways are integrated within the cell,” claims Dr. De Robertis.
Media Contact
More Information:
http://www.cshl.eduAll latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry
Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.
Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.
Newest articles
Superradiant atoms could push the boundaries of how precisely time can be measured
Superradiant atoms can help us measure time more precisely than ever. In a new study, researchers from the University of Copenhagen present a new method for measuring the time interval,…
Ion thermoelectric conversion devices for near room temperature
The electrode sheet of the thermoelectric device consists of ionic hydrogel, which is sandwiched between the electrodes to form, and the Prussian blue on the electrode undergoes a redox reaction…
Zap Energy achieves 37-million-degree temperatures in a compact device
New publication reports record electron temperatures for a small-scale, sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch fusion device. In the nine decades since humans first produced fusion reactions, only a few fusion technologies have demonstrated…