MIT scientists have found a way to induce cells to form parallel tube-like structures that could one day serve as tiny engineered blood vessels.

Almost immediately after it is donated, human blood begins to lose a key gas that opens up blood vessels to facilitate the transfer of oxygen from red blood cells to oxygen-starved tissues.

All blood cell production in adults depends on the steady work of a vital gene that if lost results in early bone marrow failure, Dartmouth Medical School cancer geneticists have found. Their research reveals an unexpected role for the gene in sustaining the adult blood-forming system, and opens novel strategies for targeting the gene, which is often involved in a type of childhood leukemia.

A blood cell known as a troublemaker for triggering the itch and inflammation in allergy attacks, the mast cell, can also calm down the flare-ups, researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine have found.

The recently identified protein tescalcin is known to be highly expressed in hematopoietic cells, but its function in these cells had not been determined.

MicroRNAs became the stars of the RNA universe when, in 2001, scientists found that these short RNAs can control whether or not genes are expressed. This month, scientists at Rockefeller University and the Wellcome Trust cast new light on the genesis of these key biological regulators and how they carry out their function.

In the daunting marathon that leads to successful drugs, promising drug candidates must pass toxicity tests before entering clinical trials. Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Whitehead Institute have developed a cell culture test for assessing a compound's genetic toxicity that may prove dramatically cheaper than existing animal tests.

Melbourne scientists have discovered two molecules in humans that can increase the lifespan of blood cells. Scientists at the Walter Eliza Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne hope the breakthrough will stop critical storages dying in blood banks before they can be used.

Fragments of cells in the blood known as platelets-which form blood clots and assist in wound healing-have internal "clocks" that act like ticking time bombs, predetermining their death from the moment they are born, according to a new study in the March 23 issue of the journal Cell, published by Cell Press.