yeast cells

Scientists know how mother and daughter can be so different. Mother and daughter yeast cells, that is. The researchers have discovered a new mechanism for cell fate determination -- how one cell, the daughter, becomes dramatically different from the mother, even though they have the same genetic material.

The study shows why mothers and daughters differ in how they express their genes: a certain gene regulator gets trapped in the daughter cell's nucleus.

(Scripps Research Institute) A Scripps Research team has unraveled a new biochemical pathway that triggers a critical repair response to correct errors in the DNA replication process that could otherwise lead to harmful or fatal mutations in cells.

Though the work focused on yeast cells, the team expects to find an analogous system in human cells that could be exploited as a target for potential therapies for cancers, which are often caused by such repair mechanisms going off course.

Mitochondria, the fuel of a cell, has been found to be the "driver" for cell division, according to biochemists. This discovery could play a big role in finding cures for many human diseases, they say.

The biochemists studied yeast cells and found that mitochondria, which generates 90 percent of the cell's energy, can be the deciding factor -- the "brain power" -- behind how fast cells divide.

(Texas A&M University - Agricultural Communications) Mitochondria, the fuel of a cell, has been found to be the "driver" for cell division,according to Texas AgriLife Research biochemists.

This discovery could play a big role in finding cures for many human diseases, they say. The biochemists studied yeast cells and found that mitochondria, which generates 90 percent of the cell's energy, can be the deciding factor -- the "brain power" -- behind how fast cells divide.

Researchers are developing a novel approach to screen for drugs to combat neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease -- using yeast cells.

The clumping process of proteins takes decades in humans but the researchers could model the process within a matter of hours in yeast cells.

This now allows for rapid genetic screening to identify proteins that can reverse the harmful effects of the disease protein; visualizing the clumping; and testing molecules that could eliminate or prevent clumping.

Scientists have uncovered details about the mechanisms through which dietary restriction slows the aging process.

Working in yeast cells, they have linked ribosomes, the protein-making factories in living cells, and Gcn4, a specialized protein that aids in the expression of genetic information, to the pathways related to dietary response and aging.

Just as cells inherit genes, they also inherit a set of instructions that tell genes when to become active, in which tissues and to what extent.

Now, researchers have built a device that, by allowing scientists to turn genes on and off in actively multiplying budding yeast cells, will help them figure out more precisely than before how genes and proteins interact with one another and how these interactions drive cellular functions.

A new compound that blocks an early step in cell death could lead to a novel class of drugs for treating heart attacks and stroke.

The researchers screened 23,000 compounds to find those that blocked mitochondrial division in yeast cells.

From three "hits" they picked the one that was most effective.

Metabolism is a central feature of life -- a myriad of biochemical processes that, together, enable organisms to nourish and sustain themselves.

Scientists are discovering how the regulation of genes governs fundamental life processes, including metabolism.

Such research, performed on simple model organisms like yeast cells, has implications for efforts to understand natural processes such as aging and disease states including cancer.