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Researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research have discovered a new type of bone cell that may reveal new therapeutic approaches for osteoporosis and other skeletal diseases.
The new cells, which the researchers term osteomorphs , are found in the blood and bone marrow, and fuse together to form osteoclasts, specialised cells that break down bone tissue. They have a unique genomic profile that reveals promising and as yet unexplored targets for therapy. This discovery is a game-changer, which not only helps us understand bone biology but presents significant new in-roads for osteoporosis therapy, says co-senior author Professor Tri Phan, who heads the Intravital Microscopy and Gene Expression Lab at the Garvan Institute. Osteomorphs express several genes that seem to be linked to bone disease, which could lead scientists to entirely new ways to target osteoporosis.
New type of bone cell could reveal targets for osteoporosis treatment
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History Plant: Flower from 100 million years ago
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Burmese Amber to OSU Fame – This Flower is History Making
December 23, 2020
Researchers at Oregon State University have used a flower concealed in Burmese Amber to identify a new genus and species of flower. The flower is a male-specimen, and comes from the mid-Cretaceous period.
Professor Emeritus for the OSU College of Science, George Poinar Jr. said, “This isn’t quite a Christmas flower but it is a beauty, especially considering it was part of a forest that existed 100 million years ago.”
Poinar, who according to the Newsroom article is an international expert in using amber-preserved lifeforms to learn about the biology and ecology of the past, went on to say, “The male flower is tiny, about 2 millimeters across, but it has some 50 stamens arranged like a spiral, with anthers pointing toward the sky.”
Dec 22, 2020
Oregon State University researchers have identified a spectacular new genus and species of flower from the mid-Cretaceous period, a male specimen whose sunburst-like reach for the heavens was frozen in time by Burmese amber.
“This isn’t quite a Christmas flower but it is a beauty, especially considering it was part of a forest that existed 100 million years ago,” said George Poinar Jr., professor emeritus in the OSU College of Science.
Findings were published in the Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas.
“The male flower is tiny, about 2 millimeters across, but it has some 50 stamens arranged like a spiral, with anthers pointing toward the sky,” said Poinar, an international expert in using plant and animal life forms preserved in amber to learn more about the biology and ecology of the distant past.