Cilia News and Research

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Mathematical Recipe for Sperm Tail Motion Discovered

Patterns of chemical interactions are thought to create patterns in nature such as stripes and spots. This new study shows that the mathematical basis of these patterns also governs how the sperm tail moves.

27 Sep 2023

NSL Complex Regulates Intraciliary Transport Genes in Multiple Cell Types

The non-specific lethal (NSL) complex is a chromatin-associated factor that has been shown in both fruit flies and mammals to regulate the expression of thousands of genes. Abrogation of the NSL genes causes the organism to die, which gives rise to the complex’s unusual name.

28 Aug 2023

UCL Scientists Visualize the Molecular 'Nano-Machinery' That Causes Cilia to Beat

The first image of the structures that power human cilia – the tiny, hairlike projections that line our airways – has been produced by a team involving UCL researchers and could lead to much-needed treatments for people with rare cilial diseases.

14 Jun 2023

FDA-approved compound promotes photoreceptor survival in lab models of inherited retinal ciliopathy

A National Eye Institute-led team has identified a compound already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that keeps light-sensitive photoreceptors alive in three models of Leber congenital amaurosis type 10 (LCA 10), an inherited retinal ciliopathy disease that often results in severe visual impairment or blindness in early childhood.

30 Mar 2023

Stickiness of influenza virus may determine the frequency of co-infection

Influenza viruses have an enormous impact in the U.S., with an estimated 25 million illnesses and 18,000 deaths in the 2022-23 flu season alone.

21 Mar 2023

3D structure of a major protein complex in cilia revealed

Researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have solved the 3D structure of an important protein complex in cilia, which are signaling appendages found on cells. The structure was pictured at the highest resolution available at the time.

15 Feb 2023

Investigating the molecular mechanisms that govern cilia force sensing

Although the human body is superficially symmetric along the left–right axis, most internal organs, including the heart, lungs, liver, stomach, and brain, have noteworthy left–right asymmetries in their structure and placement.

6 Jan 2023

Discovery of a new cellular element crucial to sense of smell

Researchers at Umeå University have found an organelle, a previously unidentified cellular component, inside the neurons that are responsible for the ability to smell. The finding might have repercussions for future studies on COVID-19 symptoms like impaired smell sense.

5 Jan 2023

Native 3D structure of the ciliary base witnessed for the first time

Because flaws in the cilia transport system can result in, for example, blindness or cystic kidneys, findings reported in Science offer new understandings of the molecular basis for different diseases.

20 Sep 2022

Study unravels novel gene vital for establishing proper left-right asymmetry

A group of scientists headed by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s (A*STAR) recently identified a new gene.

17 Dec 2021

Experts visualize genes linked to hearing loss in humans

Scientists from Uppsala University recently documented and visualized genes linked to hearing loss in the human inner ear.

7 Dec 2021

Earlier known protein complex acts as a centriole stabilizer, says study

Microtubules are fibers in cells that construct a network to offer shape and structure to cells along with mediating transport mechanisms.

4 Nov 2021

Experts explain left–right asymmetry development in the embryo

Research on the development of symmetry in mice embryos is anticipated to provide a deeper understanding of the causes of disease.

21 Oct 2021

Study discovers link between corticosteroid receptors and hippocampal neuroplasticity, ciliary genes

Chronic stress is a well-known cause for mental health disorders. New research has moved a step forward in understanding how glucocorticoid hormones ('stress hormones') act upon the brain and what their function is.

9 Aug 2021

New microscopy method to observe the movement of fast biological processes in 3D

Scientists have come up with a method that enables the use of multi-focal images to reconstruct the movement of fast biological processes in 3D.

29 Jul 2021

Researchers identify a novel pathomechanism leading to Usher syndrome

Human Usher syndrome (USH) is the most common form of hereditary deaf-blindness. Sufferers can be deaf from birth, suffer from balance disorders, and eventually lose their eyesight as the disease progresses.

12 Jul 2021

Researchers design novel type of actuator driven by genetically modified biomolecular motors

Inside our cells, and those of the most well-known lifeforms, exist a variety of complex compounds known as "molecular motors."

6 May 2021

New breakthrough in understanding how single-cell algae keep track of light as they swim

Scientists have made a pivotal breakthrough in the quest to understand how single-cell green algae are able to keep track of the light as they swim.

From University of Exeter 25 Feb 2021

Altered sugar composition impacts cell-to-surface adhesion

Biotechnologists measure the forces with which algae cells adhere to surfaces and move on them. How can cells adhere to surfaces and move on them? This is a question that was investigated by an international team of researchers headed by Prof. Michael Hippler from the University of Münster and Prof. Kaiyao Huang from the Institute of Hydrobiology (Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China).

4 Jan 2021

Scientists develop human airway stem cells to accelerate research on COVID-19, influenza

For the first time, researchers have successfully created airway basal stem cells in vitro from induced pluripotent stem cells by reprogramming blood cells taken from patients.

27 Oct 2020