Cytoplasm affects the number of vertebrae in carp-goldfish clones
The March 2005 issue of Biology of Reproduction contains a report of some intriguing findings in cloned offspring created when nuclei from one genus of fish were transplanted to enucleated eggs of another genus of fish. The seven offspring, cloned from nuclei of common carp and egg cytoplasm of goldfish, were virtually identical to the nuclear donor species, Cyprinus carpio, in appearance...Cloned stem cells prove identical to fertilized stem cells
Scientists generally agree that all cloned animals are biologically flawed. But they don't agree about what that means for stem cells derived from cloned embryos, the basis for therapeutic cloning. Also known as somatic cell nuclear transfer, therapeutic cloning is a promising approach to create individually customized cellular therapies for treating certain disorders. Demonstrated in mic...Man's best friend: Study shows lonely seniors prefer playtime with pooch over human interaction
A new Saint Louis University study shows there is some truth in the old cliché that describes a dog as "man's best friend." Nursing...Computational analysis shows that plant hormones often go it alone
Unlike the Three Musketeers who lived by the motto "All for one, one for all," plant hormones prefer to do their own thing. For years, debate swirled around whether pathways activated by growth-regulating plant hormones converge on a central growth regulatory module. Now, the cooperation model is challenged by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. They show that each hormone a...Adults who go to bed lonely get stress hormone boost next morning
A new study that takes a rare look at the physiological, social and emotional dynamics of day-to-day experiences in real-life settings shows that when older adults go to bed lonely, sad or overwhelmed, they have elevated levels of cortisol shortly after waking the next morning. Elevated levels of cortisol -- a stress hormone linked to depression, obesity and other health problems when chro...Cloned mice created from fully differentiated cells, a milestone in cloning research
New research dismisses the notion that adult stem cells are necessary for successful animal cloning, proving instead that cells that have completely evolved to a specific type not only can be used for cloning purposes, but they may be a better and more efficient starting point. As proof, researchers report they created two mouse pups from a type of blood cell that itself is incapable of dividing...Fish can determine their social rank by observation alone, study finds
A male fish can size up potential rivals, and even rank them from strongest to weakest, simply by watching how they perform in territorial fights with other males, according to a new study by Stanford University scientists. The researchers say their discovery provides the first direct evidence that fish, like people, can use logical reasoning to figure out their place in the pecking order. <p...Scientists clone mice from adult skin stem cells
For cells that hold so much promise, stem cells' potential has so far gone largely untapped. But new research from Rockefeller University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists now shows that adult stem cells taken from skin can be used to clone mice using a procedure called nuclear transfer. The findings are reported in the Feb. 12 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academ...