Features of replication suggest viruses have common themes, vulnerabilities
... virus known as flock house virus co-opts a cell's membranes to create an intracellular lair where it can safel...onsin group found, the virus co-opts intracellular membranes of mitochondria, critical energy-regulating structures found in most eukaryotic cells. Squeezing ...Abnormal fat metabolism underlies heart problems in diabetic patients
... metabolism distorts the lipid composition of cell membranes causing abnormal physical properties and cellular ...dition to the effects on mitochondria, many of the membranes in heart cells, which are built from fatty molecules, are also adversely affected by the diabetic he...New mechanism links smoking to lung damage
...ential of the cells membrane. A small shift in the membranes electrical potential, which we know occurs in many oxidative stress situations, appears to open these channels and allow unregulated flow. This can weaken and kill cells." Cells have multiple membrane channels that carefully control the flow of spe...News tips from ACS Chemical Biology
... influence the opening of calcium channels in cell membranes A new technique called the double barrel shotgun approach that helps pinpoint key cellular proteins How tricking cells with a mimic of a chemically modified protein can help identify components of cell signaling pathways. http://ww...Cell damage caused by brushing may help keep gums healthy
...aliva, to move into the cells, triggering internal membranes to move up and patch the hole, says Dr. Katsuya Miyake, MCG cell biologist and the papers co-first author. But in the seconds that repair takes, growth factors that promote growth of collagen, new cells and blood vessels leak out of injured cells. ...Carnegie Mellon scientists find key HIV protein makes cell membranes bend more easily
... biological physics at Carnegie Mellon. This helps membranes to curve, a necessary step for HIV to fuse with an immune cell as it infects it. The Carnegie Mellon scientists used X-rays to study how HIV fusion peptide (part of a larger protein) affected the energy of manufactured lipid bilayers made to mimic n...University of Leeds strengthens China links in membrane and neurobiology
...major theme of the initiative concerns the flow of membranes between different cellular compartments and its dysfunction in disease. The initiative is supported by a BBSRC China Partnering Award and a grant from the University of Leeds Fund for International Research Collaborations, designed to assist the d...New way to target and kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria found
... Conjugation starts when two bacteria smoosh their membranes together. After each opens a hole in their membrane, one squirts a single strand of DNA to the other. Then the two go on their merry way, one with new genes for traits such as drug resistance. Many highly-drug resistant bacteria rely on an enzyme, ca...Complex ART procedures more likely to lead to umbilical cord abnormality
...such as the insertion of the cord on the placental membranes instead of centrally in the placenta, or the absence of one artery in the cord, are known to correlate with an adverse outcome, said Mrs Delbaere, and we wanted to find out whether these cord anomalies were more frequent after assisted reproduction....JCI Table of Contents -- July 2, 2007
...rlin plays a critical role in repairing the plasma membranes of cardiac muscle cells that are torn as a result of strain-induced injury. Inadequate cell membrane repair may be involved in heart failure and muscular dystrophy. Their results appear in the July 2 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. ...Time-lapse recordings reveal why IVF embryos are more likely to develop into twins
...babies are born. The chorion and amnion are foetal membranes that contribute to the placenta and the foetal sac respectively. When twinning has occurred because two ICMs have developed (monochorionic/diamniotic twins) there is one placenta and two sacs, and these can be counted at birth. Careful recording of...Weizmann scientists discover a new line of communication between nervous system cells
...molecules, so called because they sit on the outer membranes of cells and help them to stick together. Peles and his team discovered that even when removed from their cells, Necl1, normally found on the axon surface, and Necl4, which is found on the glial cell membrane, adhere tightly together. When these mole...2 MSU professors spearhead international water project
... Our project is looking at developing new types of membranes and membrane systems that perform better in water ...proving their performance. Development of robust membranes is a significant opportunity to enhance the quality of water and, ultimately, public health, especia...New $1.16 million study investigates how dietary iron is used by cells
... in the cells membranes, at the interfaces between membranes and soluble compartments or within soluble compartments. The researchers will test this form-function model of ionic iron metabolism by focusing on three steps critical to maintaining the proper balance of iron in cells: 1) the reduction of ferric...Hot on the TRAIL of controlling inflammation in bacterial meningitis
...meningitis involves inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord and is caused by infection with the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. The observed swelling of the brain is largely the result of the excessive immune response to infection. The tumor necrosis factor–related apopt...JCI table of contents: June 14, 2007
...meningitis involves inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord and is caused by infection with the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. The observed swelling of the brain is largely the result of the excessive immune response to infection. The tumor necrosis factor-related apopt...Simulations unravel outer membrane transport mechanism
...ric acid or other vital nutrients across the outer membranes of Gram-negative bacteria is not a simple task. The cells must be selective in what substances they take up, and the outer membrane contains no energy-generating machinery to power the job of hauling large molecules inside. The new study examined a...Cells re-energize to come back from the brink of death
...ells life and death. The process by which the membranes develop holesmitochondrial outer membrane permeability (MOMP)is often the point of no return for self-destruction, said Douglas Green, Ph.D., chair of the St. Jude Immunology department and the studys senior author. MOMP triggers apoptosis, but if ap...When the villain becomes your friend: The strange tale of muscle lactate
...ct against the electrolyte imbalance across muscle membranes brought on by the loss of potassium. Why does potassium have such a negative effect? In the study, when potassium ions outside the muscle fibres were increased to levels seen during intense exercise, the ability of the signalling system to forward......have developed drug-like chemicals that cross cell membranes and drive efficient tau aggregation over a period of days. They noticed that when tau proteins within cells were treated with this chemical, they separated from other proteins called microtubules to which they naturally attach and then started aggr...