Hannah Somers

Escaping stem cells blamed for baldness 11 October 2021 Appeared in BioNews 1116 The exit of stem cells from hair follicle structures contributes to hair whitening and loss, in a mechanism which could be used to prevent baldness in humans. Professor Rui Yi and his colleagues at Northwestern University, Illinois, found that in the hair of ageing mice, stem cells change shape and escape the structures they are housed in, subsequently migrating away from the hair follicle.

Unique epigenetic profile found in identical twins 4 October 2021 Appeared in BioNews 1115 Identical twins carry a unique epigenetic signature on their DNA, providing potential clues as to how and why identical twinning occurs. Identical or 'monozygotic' twins occur when a single embryo splits in two soon after fertilisation, leading to the development of two embryos with the same DNA. They occur at a rate of three to four per 1000 births, and it has been thought that splitting is a random event.

Mechanism preventing Huntington's disease progression could lead to new therapies 6 September 2021 Appeared in BioNews 1111 A mechanism for boosting the activity of a DNA repair protein involved in Huntington's disease has been discovered, creating a potential treatment avenue. Researchers from University College London (UCL) and the University of Cambridge have investigated the role of FAN1, a DNA repair protein, in Huntington's disease progression.