Cells can fight viruses, even when stimulated to combat bacteria

Latest News > Biology > Linda M. Stannard/University of Cape Town/Science Source Rotaviruses like these might be vulnerable to our antibacterial defenses, a new study finds. Viruses pull a lot of dirty tricks to dodge our immune defenses and make us sick, but now scientists have come up with a trick of their own. Researchers have discovered that prompting cells to combat bacteria can also help them fight off viruses, even...

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Cells By the Number: Facts About the Building Blocks of Life

Developing nerve cells, with the nuclei shown in yellow. Credit: Torsten Wittmann, University of California, San Francisco Cells are the basic unit of life — and the focus of much scientific study and classroom learning. Here are just a few of their fascinating facets.   3.8 billion   That’s how many years ago scientists believe the first known cells originated on Earth. These were prokaryotes, single-celled organisms that do...

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Does Stretching Increase Flexibility?

Credit: Pressmaster/Shutterstock.com Many people think stretching is essential to improving flexibility. Runners stretch their hamstrings before hitting the pavement, gymnasts do hyper-splits during their warm-ups and yogis wind down their practice with some forward bends.   But does stretching really prevent tight hamstrings and stiff shoulders? And if so, how?   It turns out that scientists don't fully understand what happens...

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Image of the Day: Problem Protein

The Scientist » Image of the Day Aggregates of alpha-synuclein protein (pink) may contribute to nerve cell death in Parkinson's disease. By The Scientist Staff | November 13, 2014  FLICKR, PARKINSON'S UK, NICOLA DRUMMOND Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic progressive neurodegenerative movement disorder characterized by a profound and selective loss of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. Clinical...

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Complement — tapping into new sites and effector systems

Nature Reviews Immunology | Perspectives | Opinion Martin Kolev,1, 2, Gaelle Le Friec1, 2, & Claudia Kemper1, Published online 14 November 2014 Abstract Complement is traditionally known to be a system of serum proteins that provide protection against pathogens through direct cell lysis and the mobilization of innate and adaptive immunity. However, recent work indicates that the complement system has additional physiological...

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DNA tape recorder stores a cell's memories

Latest News > Biology > DNA tape recorder stores a cell's memories By Sarah C. P. Williams 13 November 2014 2:15 pm  Mojtaba Amin SCRIBE, a new cellular memory system, uses DNA to store information the same way that a cassette might record sounds. If cells could talk, they’d have quite a story to tell: Their life history would include what molecules they’d seen passing by, which signals they’d sent to neighbors,...

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