How enzymes locally block cell wall repair, allowing cells to fuse in an irreversible manner
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- Nature, Published online: 14 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03085-0 Alveolar type 2 (AT2) cells are the stem cells of the lung’s air sacs and are responsible for maintaining alveolar structure and gas exchange. A study that tracked AT2 cells shows that, after injury to the airway, they can…
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- For decades, scientists have been able to look at individual moments in the development of an embryo: a snapshot of a developing brain, a picture of how the heart takes shape or a glimpse of cells beginning to form the nervous system.
- The growth and death of cancer cells in the lab are studied primarily in two-dimensional cell cultures. In a study published in the journal Developmental Cell on Oct. 14, researchers instead used three-dimensional models to uncover how pressure and mechanical confinement impact cell growth—halting…
- More than 30 years after the direct connection was established between the molecular machinery controlling cell division and cancer, a new paper traces the evolution of cyclin-dependent kinase research and outlines the next generation of CDK-targeted therapies.
- In a study of fingertip regeneration, a team led by JAX senior research scientist James Godwin found that some immune cells in mice can attack and kill cells needed to rebuild bone, while a subset of those same immune cells can protect the bone-making cells and allow regeneration to continue.
- As an embryo develops from a small cluster of stem cells, those once "blank slate" cells begin to take on more specialized roles like brain, liver or muscle cells and organize themselves into three-dimensional structures such as tissues and organs.
- Every time a tissue grows or renews itself, cells must divide inside an already crowded environment. That creates a fundamental problem that scientists have not fully understood: How does a tightly packed sheet of cells make room for two daughter cells when there was once only one?
- The fusion of two cells is a decisive event in the sexual reproduction of many organisms. In fungi, cells must not only bring their membranes together and merge them, but also locally open their protective cell wall.