In this study we have uncovered the expression architecture for an entire plant organ, the root system. Using single-cell RNA sequencing we can answer new questions involved in the gene expression in Arabidopsis roots. Plants, unlike most other organisms, have a constant body plan, where new cells are being made in the meristematic regions continuously. This feature allows us to measure development of cell types over time, capturing both new cells and older cells...
Deep in the inner ear, at the base of the semicircular canals, sit tiny vestibular organs called crista ampullaris – or crista, for short. Aided by millions of sensory hair cells, crista help us maintain our gaze as we move through space, not unlike a stabilizer function in a modern camera. Without a healthy population of these hair cells, the…
Alexandre Zanghellini can’t help but think about what makes up the world around him. Sitting in a conference room, Zanghellini considered the paint on the walls, the table, the window shades, the plastic chairs. It’s all oil. “The entire world is made from oil. We just don’t realize it,” he said. Zanghellini’s job, as the CEO of Seattle-based synthetic biology company Arzeda,…
Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common cause of bacterial sexually transmitted infection, responsible for millions of infections each year. Despite this high prevalence, the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of Chlamydia pathogenesis has been difficult due to limitations in genetic tools and its intracellular developmental cycle. Within a host epithelial cell, chlamydiae replicate within a vacuole called the inclusion. Many…
Alzheimer’s is a disease of aggregation. Neurons in the human brain make a protein called amyloid beta. Such proteins on their own, called monomers of amyloid beta, perform important tasks for neurons. But in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid beta monomers have abandoned their jobs and joined together. First, they form oligomers — small clumps of up…
While prostate cancer may not be as deadly as other cancers – five-year survival rates can exceed 90%, especially if the disease is localized – incidence rates overall are increasing. For 2019 alone, The American Cancer Society predicts the United States will see roughly 175,000 new cases and 32,000 deaths associated with prostate cancer. As the prevalence of prostate cancer continues to…
A multidisciplinary team from University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has received a five-year, $12 million grant to study Merkel cell carcinoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. Dr. Paul Nghiem, a skin cancer researcher at UW and Fred Hutch, is the principal investigator of the grant. Merkel cell carcinoma, or MCC, is much rarer than melanoma, but…
Managing a fast-growing startup is not easy. But the GeekWire Awards finalists for Startup CEO of the Year have figured how to not only lead early stage companies but also inspire others to join them on their mission. We’ve opened voting in 11 GeekWire Awards categories, and community votes will be factored in with feedback from more than 30 judges. On May…
Nancy Davidson is the senior vice president and director of the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and has been studying the molecular mechanisms that drive breast cancer for the past three decades. In recent years, her lab has investigated the role of epigenetic changes that occur during the disease, and whether they can be targeted with drugs.…
Even before he was born, it was clear that the boy’s brain was unusual—so much so that his expecting parents flew from rural Alaska to Seattle, where specialists could attend to their son from birth. That is how James Bennett first met the boy, then a days-old infant struggling to breathe. The baby’s head was too big. The structures in his brain…
