【bio-news】蟹壳和真菌或许与哮喘有缘
发布于 2007-05-06 · 浏览 919 · IP 浙江浙江
这个帖子发布于 18 年零 20 天前，其中的信息可能已发生改变或有所发展。
蟹壳和真菌或许与哮喘有缘
Crab Shells and Fungi May Hold a Key to Asthma
全文请参见://www.hhmi.org/news/locksley20070422.html
Chitin is the stuff of crab shells and the carapaces of dust mites, the cell walls of lichens, and even the rigid innards of parasitic worms. It may also be the stuff that sets off asthma.
Despite being the most common biopolymer on earth after cellulose, chitin never occurs naturally in humans and other vertebrates. However, according to a new study led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator Richard M. Locksley, our immune systems possess an innate ability to recognize and eliminate chitin from our bodies. The researchers found that when this potent response to the ubiquitous particles goes awry, it can cause an allergic response that could potentially lead to asthma. The new findings, published in the April 22, 2007, online version of the journal Nature, may help elucidate the biological mechanisms underlying asthma and provide new ways of preventing and possibly treating it.
【其他新闻三则】
反思 发动蛋白(dynamin)在神经细胞功能中的作用
Reconsidering Dynamin's Role in Nerve Cell Function
全文请参见 http://www.hhmi.org/news/decamilli20070427.html
In just one-thousandth of a second, a neuron can dump up to 5,000 molecules of its chemical messenger, a neurotransmitter, into the synapse, where it will trigger an impulse in its neighboring nerve cell. Neurons are constantly engaged in chemical conversations with their neighbors, but the volume of this chatter can put a real strain on the production lines that package neurotransmitters.
Yet knowing what the components of those production lines are and what each does is vital to building a better understanding of how the brain works. As a case in point, the enzyme dynamin 1 has long fascinated scientists because it was thought to play an essential role in helping to package neurotransmitters for release. The secretion of neurotransmitters is mediated by the fusion of small neurotransmitter-filled vesicles (synaptic vesicles) with the cell outer membrane (plasma membrane). New studies by Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers at Yale University have shown that under certain conditions, however, dynamin 1 may not be needed for basic nerve cell function.
HHMI帮助医学生和牙医生参与一年研究训练
HHMI Helps Medical and Dental Students Devote a Year to Research
全文请参见 http://www.hhmi.org/news/20070503.html
For 111 medical and dental students, the next year will be spent exploring a different side of medicine. Backed by nearly $4 million of support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the students will spend a year doing mentored research at medical research centers nationwide, as participants in two programs designed to help meet the need for researchers with medical and dental training.
“Physician-scientists contribute a unique and valuable perspective to the research community,” said William Galey, graduate science education program director at HHMI. “They have a direct knowledge of where improved therapies and diagnostics are most needed, as well as an understanding of how to approach those problems in a laboratory setting. By offering outstanding medical and dental students the opportunity to experience the challenges and rewards of research, we hope to encourage them to make research part of their careers.”
“Our intent is to increase the number of professionals who apply science in the service of medicine.”
帮助区分神经发育过程自我与非自我的基因
Gene Helps Distinguish Self from Non-Self During Neural Development
全文请参见 http://www.hhmi.org/news/dscam20070503.html
Like the elegant branching of a tree, the dendritic limbs of developing nerve cells must organize themselves to cover as much space as they can evenly and efficiently. To complicate matters, they must also take care to avoid overlapping with their sister dendrites.
Precisely how these critical branch-like structures grow to avoid such trespassing has been a mystery of neural development. Now, researchers have found that a much-studied gene provides branches of nerve cells the ability to recognize one another and grow apart.
“When you remove Dscam from a single cell and ask what happens to the branching pattern, it is very interesting. The branches don’t separate with the same fidelity.”
S. Lawrence Zipursky
Crab Shells and Fungi May Hold a Key to Asthma
全文请参见://www.hhmi.org/news/locksley20070422.html
Chitin is the stuff of crab shells and the carapaces of dust mites, the cell walls of lichens, and even the rigid innards of parasitic worms. It may also be the stuff that sets off asthma.
Despite being the most common biopolymer on earth after cellulose, chitin never occurs naturally in humans and other vertebrates. However, according to a new study led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator Richard M. Locksley, our immune systems possess an innate ability to recognize and eliminate chitin from our bodies. The researchers found that when this potent response to the ubiquitous particles goes awry, it can cause an allergic response that could potentially lead to asthma. The new findings, published in the April 22, 2007, online version of the journal Nature, may help elucidate the biological mechanisms underlying asthma and provide new ways of preventing and possibly treating it.
【其他新闻三则】
反思 发动蛋白(dynamin)在神经细胞功能中的作用
Reconsidering Dynamin's Role in Nerve Cell Function
全文请参见 http://www.hhmi.org/news/decamilli20070427.html
In just one-thousandth of a second, a neuron can dump up to 5,000 molecules of its chemical messenger, a neurotransmitter, into the synapse, where it will trigger an impulse in its neighboring nerve cell. Neurons are constantly engaged in chemical conversations with their neighbors, but the volume of this chatter can put a real strain on the production lines that package neurotransmitters.
Yet knowing what the components of those production lines are and what each does is vital to building a better understanding of how the brain works. As a case in point, the enzyme dynamin 1 has long fascinated scientists because it was thought to play an essential role in helping to package neurotransmitters for release. The secretion of neurotransmitters is mediated by the fusion of small neurotransmitter-filled vesicles (synaptic vesicles) with the cell outer membrane (plasma membrane). New studies by Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers at Yale University have shown that under certain conditions, however, dynamin 1 may not be needed for basic nerve cell function.
HHMI帮助医学生和牙医生参与一年研究训练
HHMI Helps Medical and Dental Students Devote a Year to Research
全文请参见 http://www.hhmi.org/news/20070503.html
For 111 medical and dental students, the next year will be spent exploring a different side of medicine. Backed by nearly $4 million of support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the students will spend a year doing mentored research at medical research centers nationwide, as participants in two programs designed to help meet the need for researchers with medical and dental training.
“Physician-scientists contribute a unique and valuable perspective to the research community,” said William Galey, graduate science education program director at HHMI. “They have a direct knowledge of where improved therapies and diagnostics are most needed, as well as an understanding of how to approach those problems in a laboratory setting. By offering outstanding medical and dental students the opportunity to experience the challenges and rewards of research, we hope to encourage them to make research part of their careers.”
“Our intent is to increase the number of professionals who apply science in the service of medicine.”
帮助区分神经发育过程自我与非自我的基因
Gene Helps Distinguish Self from Non-Self During Neural Development
全文请参见 http://www.hhmi.org/news/dscam20070503.html
Like the elegant branching of a tree, the dendritic limbs of developing nerve cells must organize themselves to cover as much space as they can evenly and efficiently. To complicate matters, they must also take care to avoid overlapping with their sister dendrites.
Precisely how these critical branch-like structures grow to avoid such trespassing has been a mystery of neural development. Now, researchers have found that a much-studied gene provides branches of nerve cells the ability to recognize one another and grow apart.
“When you remove Dscam from a single cell and ask what happens to the branching pattern, it is very interesting. The branches don’t separate with the same fidelity.”
S. Lawrence Zipursky
最后编辑于 2007-05-06 · 浏览 919
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