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BUFFALO, N.Y. Scientists have known for years that mutations in the MLL4 gene can cause Kabuki syndrome, a rare developmental disorder.
But a study published on Jan. 11 in
Nature Communications illuminates new details regarding how this occurs. (Images are available by contacting Charlotte Hsu in UB Media Relations at chsu22@buffalo.edu.)
The research suggests that MLL4 controls the production of neurons that secrete growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. Mice without working copies of the MLL4 gene in this area had stunted growth and markedly fewer GHRH neurons. Mice with only one functioning copy of the gene had similar problems.
Oahu s ecosystems have been so affected by species extinctions and invasions that most of the seeds dispersed on the island belong to nonnative plants, and most of them are dispersed by nonnative birds.
Credit: D. Nachtsheim
The North Sea is a heavily trafficked area, with major shipping routes crossing its waters, and fisheries, offshore oil rigs, and wind farms populating its waves. All this activity inevitably has an effect on marine wildlife, and scientists are particularly interested in how the harbor porpoise population has fared in the face of such disturbances.
The harbor porpoise is known as a sentinel species - animals which indicate the health of an ecosystem and point to potential risks (think of the canary in the coal mine). According to a recent study published in
Frontiers in Marine Science, their population is declining in the German North Sea.
Credit: D. Nachtsheim
The North Sea is a heavily trafficked area, with major shipping routes crossing its waters, and fisheries, offshore oil rigs, and wind farms populating its waves. All this activity inevitably has an effect on marine wildlife, and scientists are particularly interested in how the harbor porpoise population has fared in the face of such disturbances.
The harbor porpoise is known as a sentinel species - animals which indicate the health of an ecosystem and point to potential risks (think of the canary in the coal mine). According to a recent study published in
Frontiers in Marine Science, their population is declining in the German North Sea.
Tohoku University scientists have, for the first time, provided experimental evidence that cell stickiness helps them stay sorted within correct compartments during development. How tightly cells clump together, known as cell adhesion, appears to be enabled by a protein better known for its role in the immune system. The findings were detailed in the journal Nature Communications.