Brain Development and Sexual Orientation Jacques Balthazart Sexual orientation (homo- vs. heterosexuality) is one of many sex differences observed in humans. Sex differences can result from differential postnatal experiences (interaction with parents, environment) or from biological factors (hormones and gene... Publication Date: 08/01/2012
The Immune System and the Developing Brain Jaclyn Schwarz, Staci D. Bilbo The developing brain is exquisitely sensitive to both endogenous and exogenous signals which direct or significantly alter the developmental trajectory of cells, neural circuits, and associated behavioral outcomes for the life of the individual. Cont... Publication Date: 01/01/2011
Seizures and the Developing Brain Aristea Galanopoulou Seizures are more common early in life than in adulthood. Bidirectional interactions between seizures and normal developmental processes define their expression and outcomes. Several developmentally regulated factors control neuronal excitability. GA... Publication Date: 01/01/2011
Perinatal Brain Development, Malformation, and Injury Anna Penn, Juliet Knowles In the current era of specialized high-risk obstetrics and neonatal intensive care units, many newborns born extremely prematurely or term newborns with complex brain injuries survive the neonatal period. However, morbidity from early brain injury is... Publication Date: 01/01/2011
Development of Brain and Behavior in Birds Juli Wade Sex differences in brain and behavior are widespread across vertebrates. Birds exhibit remarkable examples of these types of parallels between structure and function. For example, only male zebra finches sing, and the brain areas and muscles controll... Publication Date: 01/01/2011
Creating Connections in the Developing Brain Linda Richards, Ilan Gobius The corpus callosum is the largest fibre tract in the human brain and subserves many of the brain's higher-order functions. Disconnection syndromes resulting from surgical ablation, developmental absence (agenesis of the corpus callosum), disease, or... Publication Date: 01/01/2011
Understanding Breast Cancer Joel Pardee The mysterious disease of cancer, including breast cancer, has plagued mankind since the dawn of recorded history. Regarding the elusive cause of the disease, the "Father of Medicine," Hippocrates of Athens (460-377 BC), wrote that, "For instability ... Publication Date: 01/01/2010
The Actin Cytoskeleton in Cell Motility, Cancer, and Infection Joel Pardee By now it is abundantly clear that the cells of our bodies have the ability to move because of their actin cytoskeleton. From the earliest cell migrations in the embryo that serve to form the primordial tissue layers to the outgrowth of neurons, the ... Publication Date: 01/01/2010
Skeletal Muscle & Muscular Dystrophy Donald Fischman Histologically, muscle is conveniently divided into two groups, striated and nonstriated, based on whether the cells exhibit cross-striations in the light microscope (Figure 3). Smooth muscle is involuntary: its contraction is controlled by the auton... Publication Date: 01/01/2010
How the Heart Develops Donald Fischman With possible exception of the atomic clock, the heart may be the most perfect machine ever devised. How it develops from a simple embryonic tube is a fascinating story of biology and lends a great deal of insight into the source of heart defects tha... Publication Date: 01/01/2010
Cell Origin, Structure, and Function Joel Pardee In this lecture, we will briefly review the principles of physics, central metabolism, and cell biology that make health possible. This exercise is appropriate for those of us who have set before ourselves the problem of understanding and preserving ... Publication Date: 01/01/2010
Emerging Roles for Hippocampal Adult Neural Stem Cells in Memory Aaron Friedman, Daniela Kaufer Approximately 50 years ago, newly generated neurons were discovered in the adult hippocampus of the rat brain. This discovery contradicted a key principle in mammalian developmental neurobiology-that all the neurons of the brain are made during early... Publication Date: 12/01/2013
Patenting Stem Cell Technologies Antoinette Konski Are stem cells patentable? What is the patenting process? What rights does a patent provide? Why should I patent? Applying for and obtaining a patent is a process that can be unpredictable and intimidating, although it does not necessarily need to be... Publication Date: 03/01/2013
Stem Cells and Progenitors in the Developing Liver Marcus Muench The human liver is a dynamic organ throughout life, but no more so than during prenatal development. The liver performs many essential functions associated with metabolism, immunity and blood production. These diverse functions are performed by a var... Publication Date: 12/01/2012
Stem Cells and Extracellular Matrices Lakshmi Kiran Chelluri Stem cells have great potential in regenerative medicine and tissue injury. Regulation of stem cell homeostasis in a 3D microenvironment is controlled by the niche components that influence stem cell fate, regulation, and function. It is therefore ne... Publication Date: 03/01/2012
Biobanking in the Stem Cell Era Jennifer C. Moore, Michael H. Sheldon, Ronald P. Hart The study of mental health disorders and the genetics behind these disorders can be greatly enhanced by the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). Since many mental health disorders develop after puberty, the only way in which to study the gen... Publication Date: 06/01/2012
Counting Molecules Within Cells Valerie Coffman, I-Ju Lee, Jian-Qiu Wu A fundamental component of quantitative cell biology is the ability to count molecules within cells. The numbers of molecules and stoichiometries are the basis for structural models of protein complexes and simulations of biological processes. A vari... Publication Date: 09/01/2014
Processing of VEGF-C and -Dby the Proprotein Convertases Geraldine Siegfried, Abdel-Majid Khatib The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family members that include VEGF-A, -B, -C, -D, and placental growth factor (PlGF), display distinct binding affinities for their receptors VEGFR-1, -2, and/or -3. In addition to their requirements in the... Publication Date: 11/01/2013
Therapeutic Potential of Furin Inhibition Jeroen Declercq, J.W.M. Creemers The proprotein convertase Furin is a serine endoprotease which cleaves protein precursors carboxyterminal of basic residues in motifs such as Arg-X-X-Arg and Lys/Arg-Arg. Cleavage usually results in activation of the proprotein but can also inactivat... Publication Date: 11/01/2012
The Role of Proprotein Convertases in Animal Models of Skin Carcinogenesis Daniel Bassi, Jian Fu, Jirong Zhang, Andres J.P. Klein-Szanto Many proprotein convertases (PC), especially furin and PACE4, are involved in pathological processes such as viral infection, inflammation, hypercholesterolemia, and cancer, and have been postulated as therapeutic targets for some of these diseases. ... Publication Date: 07/01/2012
Linking the World's Information When Sir Tim Berners-Lee first proposed the foundations of the World Wide Web at CERN in 1989, his manager called it “vague, but exciting...