Lungs in Biological News

Pitt team first to profile genes in acutely ill idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients

... compared the gene activity profile of the lungs of eight IPF patients whose disease was ... To test whether the changes in the lungs could be revealed in the blood, the Pitt ... warm autopsy program, which is the only one for lungs in the world. Several years ago, an IPF ...

Two-pronged model could help foil tough cystic fibrosis infections

... bacterial infections that thrive in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis (CF), unlocking ... Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Their mucous-clogged lungs are fertile incubators for the bacteria to breed ... concentration of tobramycin that can reach CF lungs is below what we've shown to be barely enough to ...

Changes in gene may stunt lung development in children

... levels of the gene and its variants in both mouse lungs and children ages 9 to 11. Study authors, ... 3 (SOD3), previously shown to protect the lungs from the effects of asbestos and oxidative ... targets that control healthy development of the lungs during childhood," said Dr. Leikauf. Drs. ...

Pulmonary hypertension in children may result from reduced activity of gene regulator

... that comes into the heart being pumped to the lungs to pick up oxygen then going back to the heart to ... defects, three times more blood goes back to the lungs than to the body. The shear force this exerts on ... first few weeks after birth, when previously idle lungs start getting hammered with excessive blood ...

Study: Fluid buildup in lungs is part of the damage done by the flu

... typically produces a little fluid to help the lungs generate a productive cough. But new research ... Instead, the fluid buildup deep inside the lungs might help kill a person infected with the flu, ... and senior author of the study. "If the lungs aren't working well, then it doesn't matter ...

Nanoemulsion potent against superbugs that kill cystic fibrosis patients

... in the United States. Patients have mucus-clogged lungs that leave them vulnerable to repeated, ever more ... looks like it could be safely administered to the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis," LiPuma says. If ... them systemically. Localizing antibiotics to the lungs allows for higher concentrations, but resistance ...

Microscopic morphology adds to the scorpion family tree

... raw data as an illustrated atlas of the book lungs of all major lineages of scorpions. "The ... organs illuminate the scorpion tree of life. Book lungs allow some arachnids, including all scorpions, ... research will confirm the importance of book lungs and other sources of anatomical data, long ...

Inherited genetic cause, possible treatment found for complex lung disorder

... a chain of molecular events that lead to PAP. The lungs of people with PAP fill with pulmonary ... normal role is to coat lung tissues and keep the lungs from collapsing Finding an effective, ... signal its activation targets properly and the lungs fill with surfactant. Both parents are healthy ...

National Jewish Health researchers evaluating treatment to help emphysema sufferers breathe easier

... treatment to learn if poking holes in the lungs of emphysema patients can immediately help them ... of lung tissue caused by emphysema can leave lungs stiff and overinflated with air that cannot ... of the lungs, allowing the healthy parts of the lungs to more easily inflate and take in air. ...

Researchers at National Jewish Health evaluating a treatment

... treatment to learn if poking holes in the lungs of emphysema patients can immediately help them ... of lung tissue caused by emphysema can leave lungs stiff and overinflated with air that cannot ... of the lungs, allowing the healthy parts of the lungs to more easily inflate and take in air. ...

RSV may hide in the lungs, lead to asthma, UT Southwestern researchers report

... a common virus that causes infection in the lungs comes and goes in children without any long ... however, suggests that RSV may hide in the lungs even after other symptoms abate, ultimately ... said, is that the amount of virus detected in the lungs of the mice directly correlates with the severity ...

New meat-eating dinosaur from Argentina had bird-like breathing system

... birds have a unique way of breathing. The lungs actually don't expand," Sereno said. Instead, ... than bats, which, like all mammals, expand their lungs in a less efficient breathing process. ... or birdlike ribcage, this meat-eater had lungs that already functioned quite a bit like a ....

Meat-eating dinosaur from Argentina had bird-like breathing system

... that is unique among land animals. Instead of lungs that expand, birds have a system of bellows, or ... than bats, which, like all mammals, expand their lungs in a less efficient breathing process. Wilson ... pneumatization, in which outpocketings of the lungs (air sacs) invade the bones. Air-filled bones are ...

TB bacterium uses its sugar coat to sweeten its chances of living in lungs

... cells essentially welcome the bacteria into the lungs and invite them to stay a while, meaning the ... makes the bacterium attractive to cells in the lungs that are looking to clean up and discard unwanted ... . To maintain ideal breathing conditions, the lungs avoid inflammation. They do this by trying to ...

COPD? Eat your veggies

... researchers examined tissue samples from the lungs of smokers with and without COPD to determine if ... When compared to non-COPD lungs, the lungs of patients with COPD showed markedly decreased ... of benefit from restoring NRF2 levels in damaged lungs by reducing the action of KEAP1, which is an ...

Infection blocks lung's protective response against tobacco smoke

... in the lung. It has long been known that the lungs mount a strong protective response against ... in culture. Recent tests to detect Mp DNA in the lungs have indicated that it may be more prevalent than ... slightly lowering glutathione levels in the lungs of mice breathing fresh air. When mice were ...

Astronaut health on moon may depend on good dusting

... (NSBRI) are evaluating how dust deposits in the lungs in reduced gravity in order to assess the health ... for a long period of time, Prisk said. The lungs are a highly sensitive organ because of the large ... give scientists a better understanding of how the lungs work, improving the understanding of how ...

How alligators rock and roll

... pelvic, abdominal and rib muscles to shift their lungs like internal floatation devices: toward the tail ... muscles that manipulate the position of the lungs and thus the center of buoyancy may be an ... adds, noting that the use of muscles to move the lungs may be incredibly important or you would not see ...

CU-Boulder technology used to identify unexpected bacteria in cystic fibrosis patients

... identify and classify pathogens found in the lungs of cystic fibrosis sufferers, said CU-Boulder ... States, is marked by a build-up of mucus in the lungs and pancreas that can clog organs, according to ... acts as a breeding ground for bacteria in the lungs that causes swelling, inflammation and infections ...

Endobronchial valve significantly improves emphysema

... CHICAGO, Oct. 22 Emphysema patients whose lungs are implanted with a pencil eraser-sized, one-way ... Place Lakeside Center in Chicago. Normally, lungs easily expand and contract with breathing. But with emphysema, air sacs in the lungs lose elasticity and become hyper-inflated, ...

Positive results for airway bypass

... reduction in the amount of air trapped in the lungs and an improvement in breathing for patients at ... volume (RV, the amount of air remaining in the lungs after full exhalation) at 6 months. The goal was ... with the most severe hyperinflation of their lungs (as determined by a residual volume to total lung ...

Rhythmic breathing adapts to external beat through 'brain calculus'

... natural rhythm and pump air in and out of the lungs on set intervals. Doctors often must sedate or ... if a mechanical respirator is keeping a patients lungs artificially inflated with continual air ... sleep apnea or in critical care to keep their lungs and airways open, it is also preventing the ...

Bleeding, not inflammation, is major cause of early lung infection death

... by bacteria causes severe bleeding in the lungs by patients with pneumococcal pneumonia. It is ... caused as immune system proteins rushed to the lungs to fight the infection. A medical mystery ... of CYLD, which increases the permeability of the lungs blood vessels and causes them to leak blood. They ...

Scientists tackle mystery mountain illness

... oedema), which causes fluid to build up in the lungs can and can occur from as low as 2,500 metres, ... somebody becomes ill. Blood vessels inside the lungs constrict in response to low oxygen to such an ... blood cells pass), leading to flooding of the lungs air sacs. Risk factors include rapid ascent, ...

Scientists open doors to diagnosis of emphysema

... by the damage and destruction of the alveoli, the tiny air-sacs of the lungs that are crucial for respiration and uptake of oxygen from the air. ... smoke and other irritants activate immune cells, like macrophages, in the lungs to destroy the foreign material, and chronic exposure causes inflammation. ...

Harvard scientists solve mystery about why HIV patients are more susceptible to TB infection

... how HIV interferes with the cellular and molecular mechanisms used by the lungs to fight TB infection. This information is crucial for researchers ... by extracting immune cells called "alveolar macrophages" from the lungs of otherwise healthy, asymptomatic HIV-positive patients as well as from ...

New discovery paves the way for new diagnosis of serious lung disease

... and Uppsala University Hospital have identified a protein in the lungs that is important to the immune defense system in an autoimmune lung ... cells, and adrenal glands. "Only now have we understood that the lungs are attacked as well and that in many cases this is the most serious ...

Research elucidates way lungs fight bacteria and prevent infection

... from lung complications of a disease, rather than the disease itself. lungs are delicate and exposed to the environment, almost like an open wound. ... by signaling for white blood cells to move from the bloodstream into the lungs and airway to fight potential infection. For the first time, ...

UT Southwestern researchers identify gene linked to inherited form of fatal lung disease

... determined that a mutation in a gene known for its role in defending the lungs against invading pathogens is responsible for some inherited cases of a ... produced by this gene, surfactant protein A2, is found in the fluid of the lungs and helps protect the organ from invading pathogens. Many of the ...

Key component of debilitating lung disease identified

... is a degenerative condition that decreases the flow of air through the lungs as the lung's air sacs are damaged. A study of lung tissue samples from ... on numerous antioxidant and pollutant-detoxifying genes to protect the lungs from environmental pollutants, such as cigarette smoke. Biswal previously ...

New beta-blocker to offer hope to heart and lung sufferers

... at discriminating between the heart and lungs, causing the muscles in the lungs to tighten and making breathing more difficult in some patients who have a ... that is much more effective at discriminating between the heart and lungs than current drugs. The funding will allow them to carry out further ...

UIC researchers make promising finding in severe lung disease

... nearly 150,000 people each year in the United States. In ARDS, the lungs become swollen with water and protein, and breathing becomes impossible, ... to the disruption of the endothelial barrier and build-up of water in lungs in ARDS, a circulating blood cell, the neutrophil, "migrates into lung ...

Engineer to spearhead research into cell metabolism and medical injuries

... ill patients in Intensive Therapy Units (ITU) spend some time with their lungs ventilated using a mechanical ventilator or life-support machine. However, mechanical ventilation exposes patients lungs to potentially damaging positive pressures, and as a result, ...

USF professor gives historical look at physiology and WWII air war

... as long as their airway was open, allowing air to flow out of their lungs as the surrounding ambient pressure dropped. If their airway was sealed, as during mid-swallow, then their lungs could over-pressure resulting in tearing of lung tissue. ...

Study finds a high rate of asthma in college athletes

... challenging. Exercise-induced asthma occurs when airflow to the lungs is reduced due to narrowing and closing of the airways in association with ... exercise-induced asthma. The test involves challenging or stressing the lungs by making the person hyperventilate, then measuring their lung function to ...

Key to out-of-control immune response in lung injury found

... blood transfusions and overdoses of some medications. In ARDS, the lungs become swollen with fluid and breathing becomes impossible. Thirty percent ... "Without an inflammatory response, bacterial invaders in the lungs can kill, but too intense a response can also be fatal," said Kurt ...

Holding breath for several minutes elevates marker for brain damage

... breath. The divers used whatever preparatory techniques they customarily use in competition, such as hyperventilating, insufflation (filling the lungs with as much air as possible) and breath-holding warm-ups. The researchers took arterial blood samples from a catheter inserted into the artery ...

Stress signals link pre-existing sickness with susceptibility to bacterial infection

... diseases disrupt the power generating machinery within cells and increase a person's susceptibility to bacterial infection, particularly in the lungs or respiratory tract. A new study published in Disease Models & Mechanisms (DMM), shows that infection with the pneumonia causing bacteria ...

Airway cells use 'tasting' mechanism to detect and clear harmful substances

... to a study by scientists at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine. The findings could help explain why injured lungs are susceptible to further damage. The study, published online July 23 in Science Express, shows that receptors for bitter compounds that are ...

Athletes, spectators faced unprecedented air pollution at 2008 Olympic Games

... levels 100 percent of the time for the most dangerous particulate matter (smaller than 2.5 microns), which is more easily inhaled into the lungs and causes more serious health problems. Levels of the smaller, most harmful particulate matter was also the least affected by government efforts to ...