Robertson FM (2010) IDrugs "High-Content Analysis--CHI's Seventh Annual Conference--Developments in HCA and Pathway Analysis."

Robertson FM

[IDrugs, 2010]

CHI''s Seventh Annual Conference on High-Content Analysis (HCA), held in San Francisco, incorporated topics covering new developments in the field of HCA, including hardware and software updates, new biological models for HCA and pathway analysis. This conference report highlights selected presentations on the use of HCA for the characterization of stem cells, cell-colony analysis, the validation of disease models and the identification of antiparasitic compounds.

Effros RB et al. (2008) J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci "The biological sciences section program at the 60th Annual Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America."

Kaeberlein M, Ingram D, Lundblad V, Blau H, Effros RB, McCarter R, Johnson TE, McElhaney J, Saag M, Chesselet MF, Austad S

[J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci, 2008]

In this era of genomics and other exciting technical advances, research on the biology of aging is undergoing a renaissance. This report summarizes 10 cutting-edge areas of research covered in symposia that spanned such topics as stem cells, novel vaccine strategies, nutritional sensing, new concepts of Parkinson''s disease, high throughput screening for aging interventions, manipulating telomerase in cancer and immunodeficiency, synergy between aging and HIV disease, and epigenetic influences on aging. Novel animal models, including those showing no evidence of aging, as well as ethical and political implications of embryonic stem cells and alternative medicine are also discussed.

Roush W (1996) Science "Divide and confer: how worm embryo cells specialize."

Roush W

[Science, 1996]

The one-cell animal embryo, or zygote, faces a daunting engineering task: implementing the architectural plans inscribed in its DNS for building a complex, multicelled body. So, like any sensible construction supervisor, the zygote swiftly divides the project into manageable chunks, assigning some of its progeny to build only gut, for example, and other to make only muscle or skin. Just how each early embryonic cell gets its orders is understood only for the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster-an achievement that helped win 1995's Nobel Prize in medicine for three developmental biologists. Now, however, the communication lines governing embryonic development are emerging in another animal beloved of developmental researchers: the tiny worm known as Caenorhabditis elegans.

Garinis GA et al. (2007) Mech Ageing Dev ""The molecular basis of aging": the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds 95th International Titisee Conference."

Garinis GA, Schumacher B, Patil CK

[Mech Ageing Dev, 2007]

Nearly 20 years ago, researchers discovered that lifespan can be extended by single-gene mutations in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans. Further studies revealed that the mechanisms governing aging in the smallest organisms have been evolutionarily conserved and may operate in human beings. Since then, the field of biogerontology has expanded considerably, learning from - and contributing to - such disparate fields as cell signaling, metabolism, endocrinology, and a wide range of human diseases including cancer. To date, newly discovered connections and novel interdisciplinary approaches gradually unify what once seemed unrelated observations between seemingly disparate research areas. While this unification is far from complete, several overlapping themes have clearly emerged. At the 95th International Titisee Conference, devoted to "The Molecular Basis of Aging," 60 of the world''s pre-eminent biogerontologists shared their most recent findings in the biology of aging, and discussed interdisciplinary connections between diverse fields.