cells | Common News Update

Dec302020 by adminNo Comments

Gut cells alert immune system to invading parasites

Science

Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Cells in the gut are the first to sound the alarm when parasites invade the body, according to a study published this week in the journal PNAS. When scientists exposed mouse models to the parasite Cryptosporidium, they found the first warning signal was emitted by epithelial cells lining the intestines, not an immune cell. Advertisement The gut's epithelial cells, called enterocytes, are mostly responsible for absorbing nutrients. But as the latest experiments revealed, they perform surveillance duties, using the molecular receptor NLRP6 to warn other cells of an invading pathogen. NLRP6 is a component of a multi-protein complex known as the inflammasome. "You can think about the inflammasome as an alarm system in a house," senior study author Boris Striepen said in a ne...

Jan142020 by adminNo Comments

Melanoma cells may develop new ‘skin’ to resist cancer treatments

Health

Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Researchers may have found how some skin cancer cells become resistant to currently available chemotherapy. In a study published Monday in the journal Cancer Cell, researchers from Queen Mary University of London describe how melanoma cells fight anti-cancer drugs by changing their internal skeleton, or cytoskeleton. The discovery could open up new treatment options to combat skin and other cancers that develop resistance to treatment, they say. "In a nutshell if you are a cancer cell, what does not kill you makes you stronger," lead author Victoria Sanz-Moreno, professor of cancer cell biology at Queen Mary, said in a statement. According to the Melanoma Research Alliance, melanoma is the most diagnosed cancer among 25- to 29-year-olds in the United States. An estimat...

Nov262019 by adminNo Comments

Dual motion helps cells keep their shape

Science

Nov. 26 (UPI) -- To keep their shape, cells rely on two different types of motion, according to a new study. The discovery -- detailed this week in the journal eLife -- promises new insights into the biomechanics of cellular health, insights that could reveal the origins of disease. "Nucleolar malfunction can lead to disease, including cancer," senior study author Alexandra Zidovska, an assistant professor of physics at New York University, said in a news release. "Thus, understanding the processes responsible for the maintenance of nucleolar shape and motion might help in the creation of new diagnostics and therapies for certain human afflictions." Until now, scientists weren't sure how cellular components without membranes keep their shape. The latest research revealed a unique dual mo...

Oct72019 by adminNo Comments

How cells sense oxygen wins Nobel prize

Health

Three scientists who discovered how cells sense and adapt to oxygen levels have won the 2019 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine.Our body's cells use oxygen to convert food into usable energy.The trio - British Sir Peter Ratcliffe and two Americans, William Kaelin and Gregg Semenza - discovered how cells adapt when oxygen levels drop.The Swedish Academy said their "elegant" findings were leading to treatments for anaemia and even cancer. It said: "The fundamental importance of oxygen has been understood for centuries, but how cells adapt to changes in levels of oxygen has long been unknown."Sir Peter Ratcliffe is based at the Francis Crick Institute in the UK, William Kaelin at Harvard in the US and Gregg Semenza at Johns Hopkins University in the US.O...

May262019 by adminNo Comments

New research shows human cells mimic computer chips

Science

May 24 (UPI) -- Living cells are wired like computer chips, using direct signals to instruct them how to function, but they can also change behavior rapidly -- something chips can't do, new research by the University of Edinburgh suggests. The cell-wide web discovery deepens scientists' understanding of how instructions spread through the body. The new research found information is carried across a web of guide wires that transmit signals across tiny, nanoscale distances. The movement of charged molecules across the tiny distances that transmit information, similar to how a computer microprocessor works. "We found that cell function is coordinated by a network of nanotubes, similar to the carbon nanotubes you find in a computer microprocessor," said Professor Mark Evans, of the Universit...