A Journey back in time to the origin of stem cells

Proteins that regulate animal stem cells are much older than animals themselves

20-Nov-2024 - A new study published in Nature Communications reveals that critical proteins involved in animal stem cell regulation are much older than previously thought, predating the origin of animals that likely evolved more than 700 million years ago. The international research team included scientists ...

A new dimension in Stem Cell Signaling

Molecular morse code in stem cells encrypting differentiation information revealed

01-Mar-2022 - Divide, differentiate or die? Making decisions at the right time and place is what defines a cell’s behavior and is particularly critical for stem cells of an developing organisms. Decision making relies on how information is processed by networks of signaling proteins. The teams around Christian ...

Stem cells do not (only) play dice

Stem cells work as a team and do not leave their fate to pure chance

10-Nov-2021 - In just a few weeks a completely new organism develops from a fertilized egg cell. The real miracle is that a bunch of identical stem cells turns into completely different, specialized cell types. A team led by Christian Schröter, group leader at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology ...

Fountain of youth for ageing stem cells in bone marrow

Epigenetic changes in old age increase risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures

15-Sep-2021 - As we age, our bones become thinner, we suffer fractures more often, and diseases like osteoporosis can occur. One of the culprits is ageing stem cells in the bone marrow, which are no longer as effective at replenishing the bones. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing ...

Embryonic development in a Petri dish

3D cell culturing technique could replace mouse embryos

14-Dec-2020 - By growing mouse stem cells in a special gel, a Berlin research team succeeded to grow structures similar to parts of an embryo. The trunk-like structures develop the precursors for neural, bone, cartilage and muscle tissues from cellular clumps within five days. This could allow the ...

Neandertal genes in the petri dish

Researchers are studying the Neandertal DNA found in modern humans using stem cells and organoids

22-Jun-2020 - Protocols that allow the transformation of human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines into organoids have changed the way scientists can study developmental processes and enable them to decipher the interplay between genes and tissue formation, particularly for organs where primary tissue ...

Cancer-like metabolism and human brain size evolution

Mechanism of action of human-specific brain size gene uncovered

08-Jan-2020 - The size of the human brain increased profoundly during evolution. A certain gene that is only found in humans triggers brain stem cells to form a larger pool of stem cells. As a consequence, more neurons can arise, which paves the way to a bigger brain. This brain size gene is called ARHGAP11B ...

Generation of mouse induced pluripotent stem cells succeeds better without Oct4

11-Nov-2019 - Quality of induced pluripotent stem cells is dramatically enhanced by omitting what was thought to be the most crucial reprogramming factor. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster showed that Oct4, a factor most commonly used for reprogramming, is detrimental ...

Crowding in the skin

Stem cells sense neighborhood density to make decisions on their behavior

13-Dec-2017 - Human skin is a remarkable organ serving as a barrier protecting us from pathogens, toxic substances and others. Our skin needs to constantly renew throughout our lifetime as well as change its size to perfectly fit and cover the body. To fulfill such a complex and dynamic behavior every cell ...

A tiny change with considerable consequences

Spectacular finding

13-Dec-2016 - What distinguishes humans from monkeys and apes? The gene ARHGAP11B is probably among the things that make humans special: This gene is only present in humans and contributes to the amplification of brain stem cells. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics ...