Tag: "braf" at biology news

Zebrafish may hold key to understanding human nerve cell development

Glia appear essential for 'hair cells'.responsible for hearing and balance. Traditionally viewed as supporting.actors, cells known as glia may be essential for the normal development.of nerve cells responsible for hearing and balance, according to new.University of Utah research. The study is reported in the January 6,.2005 issue of Neuron and is co-authored by scientists at the University.of Was...

Glow-in-the-dark zebrafish at UH hold keys to biological clocks

Using genetically altered zebrafish that glow in the dark, University of Houston researchers have found new tools that shed light upon biological clock cycles. .. Gregory M. Cahill, associate professor of biology and biochemistry at UH, and Maki Kaneko, a fellow UH researcher who is now at the University of California-San Diego, presented their findings in a paper titled "Light-dependent Developm...

Agilent Technologies introduces advanced zebrafish, mouse microarrays for stem cell and developmental biology research

Which is more likely to happen - you being in a car wreck or being bitten by a shark? .. . .. McEachran goes on to note that far mor...

Temperature regulates circadian clock in zebrafish

The biological clock controls the circadian rhythms of a wide range of physiological and behavioral processes, from fluctuating hormone levels to sleep-wake cycles and feeding patterns. While it's well known that circadian clock elements sense and respond to light cycles, much less is known about how daily temperature cycles affect the clock's timing mechanism in vertebrates. In the open-access...

Zebrafish may hold key to improved cancer research

A new study has confirmed that research done with zebrafish may be able to play a critical role in learning about the genetic basis of cancer and the mutations that can lead to it - and identified one gene in particular, B-myb, whose function is essential to preventing tumors. . .. The research also indicates that zebrafish may be a key to faster, less ex...

Mutations in the BRAF gene predict sensitivity to a novel class of cancer drugs

A team of researchers led by scientists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have discovered that a new class of drugs -- now in early stage clinical trials -- work best in patients with mutations in the BRAF gene. BRAF is a protein that plays a central role in the growth and survival of cancer cells and is mutated in the majority of patients with melanoma and in a minority of patients with...

How does a zebrafish grow a new tail?

If a zebrafish loses a chunk of its tail fin, it'll grow back within a week. Like lizards, newts, and frogs, a zebrafish can replace surprisingly complex body parts. A tail fin, for example, has many different types of cells and is a very intricate structure. It is the fish version of an arm or leg. . The question of how cold-blooded animals re-grow missing tails and other appendages has fascinat...

Key to zebrafish heart regeneration uncovered

When a portion of a zebrafish's heart is removed, the dynamic interplay between a mass of stem cells that forms in the wound and the protective cell layer that covers the wound spurs the regeneration of functional new heart tissue, Duke University Medical Center scientists have found. . .. Many cell biologists believe the ability to regenerate damaged heart tissue may be present in all vertebrate...