Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.
Stem cells are remarkable cells that have the ability to become almost any kind of specialized cells in our bodies. Given this extraordinary potential, how does a stem cell keep from having an identity crisis? A recent study from Waisman Center researcher Xinyu Zhao’s lab shows how a gene called MBD1 plays an important role …
Waisman Center researchers Anita Bhattacharyya and Xinyu Zhao are looking to make stem cells glow. That glow will tell them that they have successfully turned on a gene that is usually turned off in individuals with fragile X syndrome. Turning on this gene – called FMR1 – could be an important way to treat this …
In their photographs, Jenni and Kyle Geurkink look like happy, healthy children. Jenni has a captivating smile and a twinkle in her eyes. Kyle is a sturdy toddler who loves brooms, mops and any occasion to laugh. First Christmases, first birthdays, first playtimes with cousins—these are just a few of the images of Jenni and …
Several research and infrastructure projects featuring Waisman Center researchers as the primary or co-investigator have been selected for the second round of funding through the UW2020
Title: MDM2 inhibition rescues neurogenic and cognitive deficits in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome Legend: Left: Models for FMRP regulation of the MDM2 and P53 pathway, which impacts adult neurogenesis and cognition. Right upper: Schematic of novel location test for assessing spatial learning. Right lower panel Nutlin-3 treatment fully rescued spatial memory deficits in Fmr1 …
A University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher who studies the most common genetic intellectual disability has used an experimental drug to reverse—in mice—damage from the mutation that causes the syndrome.
In one of the first studies to “read” the genetic activity inside individual brain cells, University of Wisconsin—Madison neuroscientist Xinyu Zhao has identified the genetic machinery that causes maturation in a young nerve cell.
Fragile X syndrome is the most common inherited intellectual disability and the greatest single genetic contributor to autism. Unlocking the mechanisms behind fragile X could make important revelations about the brain.
The majority of individuals with Rett syndrome are female and are considered genetically 'mosaic' due to random inactivation of the X-chromosome (XCI) which occurs in around half of all their cells.
