Navigation Links
UC Santa Barbara scientists learn how to unlock the destiny of a cell: A gift for the tin man?
Date:11/1/2012

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) Scientists have discovered that breaking a biological signaling system in an embryo allows them to change the destiny of a cell. The findings could lead to new ways of making replacement organs.

The discovery was made in the laboratory of Joel H. Rothman, a professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at UC Santa Barbara. The studies were reported in the interdisciplinary journal Genes and Development, and were carried out by Ph.D student Nareg Djabrayan, in collaboration with Rothman and two other members of the laboratory, Ph.D student Erica Sommermann and postdoctoral fellow Nathaniel Dudley.

"At some point along the way toward becoming part of a complete individual, cells become destined to choose a particular identity and long-term profession," Rothman noted. "Once a cell chooses who it will be, it locks onto that identity for the remainder of its life."

A cell that is destined to become a heart cell functions exclusively in the heart until it dies, and never chooses later to change jobs by becoming, for example, a brain cell. "If Oz's wizard possessed the powers he claimed, and had a spare brain lying around, he could switch it to a heart as a gift for the Tin Man. And he could reverse the trick for the Scarecrow," Rothman said.

Similarly, the researchers have found a way to unlock cells' destinies and lead them to take on a new profession.

The scientists found that a widely used cell signaling system, known as "Notch" signaling, causes cells to commit to a particular occupation, such as a skin or brain cell. When they blocked the signal by genetic manipulation, the researchers discovered that they could force a cell to change its destiny, such that they instead became cells of the intestine.

"We found that we could break the signal in such a way that cells would follow their usual destinies, but were somehow less committed to doing so:
'/>"/>

Contact: George Foulsham
george.foulsham@ia.ucsb.edu
805-893-3071
University of California - Santa Barbara
Source:Eurekalert  

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2

Related biology technology :

1. inVentiv Health Selected to Provide Sales Operations Support for Santarus
2. Oracle chairman Jeff Henley makes $50 million gift to UC Santa Barbara
3. Kitware Announces Opening of Santa Fe Office
4. Scientists defuse the Vietnam time bomb
5. Singapore scientists lead human embryonic stem cell study
6. Sheffield scientists shine a light on the detection of bacterial infection
7. Nanowiggles: Scientists discover graphene nanomaterials with tunable functionality in electronics
8. Scientists solve mystery of colorful armchair nanotubes
9. iBioSeminars and iBioMagazine: Free, Online Biology Seminars and Short Talks by Leading Scientists
10. Chinese Scientists Zhen-Yi Wang and Zhu Chen Awarded 7th Annual Szent-Gyorgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research
11. Scientists decode brain waves to eavesdrop on what we hear
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
Related Image:
 UC Santa Barbara scientists learn how to unlock the destiny of a cell: A gift for the tin man?
(Date:6/18/2013)... Tabletop SEMs are inexpensive and easy to ... performance and capability such as small sample sizes, lower ... provide better imaging performance and more analytical capability but ... higher cost of maintenance. The Pemtron PS-230 and ... types of SEM product, offering competitive prices compared with ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... (Monday, June 17, 2013) A million electric cars could ... the decade with the help of research by the United ... University of Waterloo. , Professor Zhongwei Chen is part of ... to develop non-precious materials to replace the expensive platinum catalysts ... the adoption of fuel cells in vehicles is the cost ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... China Cord Blood Corporation (NYSE: CO ) ... blood collection, laboratory testing, hematopoietic stem cell processing, and ... financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ... Fourth Quarter of Fiscal 2013 Highlights ... increased by 33.3% to RMB133.0 million ($21.4 million) from ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... June 18, 2013 In support of ... the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York is ... Switzerland’s MS Tûranor PlanetSolar , to Manhattan. PlanetSolar ... DeepWater Expedition 2013 tour with scientists on board from ... Gérard d’Aboville, runs exclusively on energy from the sun ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Nanounity Introduces the Pemtron Range of Compact Scanning Electron Microscopes 2Nanounity Introduces the Pemtron Range of Compact Scanning Electron Microscopes 3US and Canadian researchers drive towards cheaper fuel cells for electric cars 2China Cord Blood Corporation Reports Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year of Fiscal 2013 2China Cord Blood Corporation Reports Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year of Fiscal 2013 3China Cord Blood Corporation Reports Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year of Fiscal 2013 4China Cord Blood Corporation Reports Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year of Fiscal 2013 5China Cord Blood Corporation Reports Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year of Fiscal 2013 6China Cord Blood Corporation Reports Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year of Fiscal 2013 7China Cord Blood Corporation Reports Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year of Fiscal 2013 8China Cord Blood Corporation Reports Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year of Fiscal 2013 9China Cord Blood Corporation Reports Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year of Fiscal 2013 10China Cord Blood Corporation Reports Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year of Fiscal 2013 11China Cord Blood Corporation Reports Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year of Fiscal 2013 12China Cord Blood Corporation Reports Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year of Fiscal 2013 13Switzerland’s MS Tûranor PlanetSolar, the World’s Largest Solar Boat, Arrives in New York City 2Switzerland’s MS Tûranor PlanetSolar, the World’s Largest Solar Boat, Arrives in New York City 3Switzerland’s MS Tûranor PlanetSolar, the World’s Largest Solar Boat, Arrives in New York City 4
... - Exploiting a novel technique called phase discontinuity, researchers at ... induced light rays to behave in a way that defies ... published this week in Science , has led to ... of a ray of light bouncing off a surface or ...
... /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Advanced Technological Education Television (ATETV), an ... National Science Foundation , returns with 40 new videos just ... is a free Web video series featuring up to the ... and employment opportunities. The series debuted in 2009 and has ...
... 2011 An online library of cellular images freely ... celebrated its one-year anniversary on August 9, 2011 by ... favorite website. The Scientist announced the readers, ... from the judges. The Cell has more than 3,000 ...
Cached Biology Technology:From a flat mirror, designer light 2From a flat mirror, designer light 3New Videos Spotlight Science/Technology Careers and Educational Path To Secure Jobs in Them 2Free Online Library of Cell Images Wins 'The Labby' 2
(Date:6/18/2013)... Medicine have discovered a mechanism that is used to ... of blood typically associated with clotting, were discovered to ... it off from the rest of the body. The ... this week, provide the science community with a greater ... that platelets do participate in immunity, but now it,s ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... the Energy Department,s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), ... a paper describing a novel cellulose-degrading enzyme from ... commonly known as the gribble. , Gribbles ... unique ability to produce their own enzymes instead ... biomass they eat. New biomass-degrading enzymes from novel ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... environmental engineer has been awarded a $394,300 grant ... water quality and flow in the new facilities ... Kruzic, UT Arlington associate professor of civil engineering, ... add monochloramine to the water in an effort ... stations and pipelines. Adding monochloramine is widely practiced ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Immunity mechanism discovered 2Novel enzyme from tiny gribble could prove a boon for biofuels research 2UT Arlington research to benefit quality, flow in 150-mile Integrated Pipeline 2
... or community taken to combat childhood obesity? The percentage ... 35 years. Local governments play a crucial role by shaping ... to find fresh fruits and vegetables, play outdoors, walk, and ... TO PREVENT CHILDHOOD OBESITY, a new report from the Institute ...
... air cargo scanning technology team has been awarded ... Prize for Outstanding Science in Support of Defence ... outstanding science and/or technology with the potential to ... security. Security and border protection are key ...
... Blacksburg, Va. -- After engineers and scientists at Virginia Tech, ... water, Michael Phelps may find he still has a few ... ,The remarkable ability of fish to maneuver in ... to accelerate in a seemingly effortless fashion has researchers wondering ...
Cached Biology News:Tackling childhood obesity at the local level -- IOM report releases Sept. 1 2NSF Emerging Frontiers' program supports development of smart materials based on study of fish 2NSF Emerging Frontiers' program supports development of smart materials based on study of fish 3
... with a modular approach to instrument control, ... Plus NDS family provides modular software components ... management, giving you the flexibility to choose ... now and that can grow as your ...
... Workgroup solution is a highly scalable ... expression data in a workgroup or ... in over 40 leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, ... GeneSpring Workgroup streamlines genomics research at ...
... designed for proteomic scale kinase profiling, ... and drug discovery research built on ... on-chip synthesis platform. These microarrays are ... Protein Kinase Substrate - Peptide Microarray ...
... 18 amino acid synthetic peptide whose sequences are derived from mouse ... carboxy terminus): S(21) - S - M - P - L ... A - I - D - K - K - I ... peptide may be used for neutralization and control experiments with the ...
Biology Products: