Cellular

Use of Cellular Phones associated with Increased risk of Brain Tumors

A recent article published by a team in Sweden suggests that there is an increased risk of brain cancer in the areas of highest exposure in patients using digital telephones (Case Control Study on Radiology work, Medical X-Ray Investigations, and Cellular Telephones as Risk Factors for Brain Tumors, Hardell, et al, May 4, 2000, www.medscape.com). Their analysis focused on the effect of different...

DNA helps in cellular function

Biological chemists at the University of north Carolina at Chapel Hill, state about the discovery of how living organisms convert genetic instructions into action. The UNC scientists have found a previously unknown chemical site on a key enzyme that regulates production of the genetic messenger known as RNA. When the chemical site is occupied, it markedly speeds up the// process...

Researchers Discover Two Proteins Involved In Cellular Destruction Of HIV Virus

Scientists at the Ohio State University have discovered a hitherto unknown mechanism by which cells fight against the invasion of the HIV/AIDS virus. //It was found that two proteins that help in the repair of injured DNA also destroy the DNA of the HIV virus, which is vital for its survival once it enters the cell. The report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Scie...

Unchecked Cellular Repair Pathway Causes Liver Cancer

Researchers from Duke University Medical Center and John Hopkins University School of Medicine have found that an uncontrolled cell signaling pathway that plays a vital role in the embryonic development and the liver's own response // to injury lead to the development of liver cancer. The cell-signalling pathway called Hedgehog is present only in immature, stem-like liver cells. This di...

New Way to Open Cellular Ion Channels, Implications for Drug Design

Using an enzyme found in the venom of the brown recluse spider, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered a new way to open// molecular pores, called ion channels, in the membrane of cells. The research team – Zhe Lu, MD, PhD; Yajamana Ramu, PhD; and Yanping Xu, MD, PhD of the Department of Physiology at Penn – screened venoms from over 100 pois...

Cellular System Causing Destruction Of Faulty Proteins In Cystic Fibrosis Identified

Researchers from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have managed to isolate a cellular system responsible for degrading proteins in Cystic Fibrosis. Blocking this// system allows some affected proteins to regain their shape and thus may herald in new treatments for the disease. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a fatal disease caused by a defective gene that produces a misshapen form...

Gene May Regulate Cellular Aging

A gene that has the potential to suppress tumor growth also plays a major role in aging, according to three separate studies. The gene p16INK4a caused cell to grow old and work poorly as compared to younger cells.// These older cells seemed to know their age even when transplanted into young mice. Other cells in the young mice were not as sluggish as these older cells. Teams from the...

Cellular Cues Identified for Stroke Recovery

When a stroke strikes, the supply of blood to the part of the brain affected is interrupted, starving it of oxygen. Brain cells can be seriously damaged or die, impairing local brain function. // But the brain is a battler. Within weeks of a stroke, new blood vessels begin to form, and, like marching ants, newly born neurons migrate long distances to the damaged area to aid the regen...

Cellular Pathway Yields Potential New Weapon in Vaccine Arsenal

When a cell has to destroy any of its organelles or protein aggregates, it envelops them in a membrane, forming an autophagosome// , and then moves them to another compartment, the lysosome, for digestion. Two years ago, Rockefeller University assistant professor Christian Münz showed that this process, called autophagy, sensitizes cells for recognition by the immune system’s helper...

Cocaine's Use During Pregnancy May Cause Lasting Cellular Effects

Cocaine use during pregnancy can cause subtle but disabling cognitive impairments -- attention deficits, learning disabilities and emotional problems //– Says a recent study by investigators. The studty Investigators at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development may help explain the long-term behavioral and neurological problems associated with prenatal exposure to...