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Natural killer cell = The wonder creation , may be a mutation of WBC......

Natural killer cell From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   (Redirected from Natural Killer cell ) Jump to: navigation , search Natural killer cells (or NK cells ) are a type of cytotoxic lymphocyte critical to the innate immune system . The role NK cells play is analogous to that of cytotoxic T cells in the vertebrate adaptive immune response . NK cells provide rapid responses to virally infected cells and respond to tumor formation, acting at around 3 days after infection . Typically immune cells detect MHC presented on infected cell surfaces, triggering cytokine release causing lysis or apoptosis . NK cells are unique, however, as they have the ability to recognize stressed cells in the absence of antibodies and MHC, allowing for a much faster immune reaction. They were named “natural killers” because of the initial notion that they do not require activation in order...

Baldness as a Signal of Heart Disease Risk

Baldness as a Signal of Heart Disease Risk Courtesy : NY Times and BMJ online. Baldness may indicate an increased risk for coronary heart disease. The risk is associated only with male pattern baldness, the kind that starts at the top or back of the head, and not with a receding hairline, according to researchers who reviewed six studies that included 37,000 participants. The analysis, published online in BMJ Open , found that baldness increased the risk for heart disease by between 30 and 40 percent compared with men with a full head of hair. They found the association among men 55 to 60 as well as among older men, and the more severe the baldness, the greater the risk. The reason for the association is unclear, but the authors suggest that known risk factors for heart disease — hypertension, high cholesterol, smoking and others — may affect both conditions, and that baldness may be a marker of atherosclerosis. In previous studies, baldness has been linked to an increased risk...
Liver Stem Cells Discovered in Mice Share on email Share on facebook Share on twitter Scientists successfully identified and grew a renewable population of liver stem cells for the first time, a new study reported. Tissues derived from these stem cells slightly boosted liver function when implanted into mice with a liver disorder. The findings could eventually lead to approaches that help rejuvenate damaged livers in people. A single cell was coaxed to mature into liver cells that produce common liver proteins (green and red).  Image courtesy of Huch et al.,  Nature . The liver is a large, versatile organ that has many jobs, including cleansing blood and digesting food. The liver also has a unique ability to quickly regenerate and regain its original size if partially removed by surgery. Scientists have long known that stem cells that have the potential to create more liver cells must exist in the adult liver. But until now, no one had found a way to detect a...

Protein in human blood platelets points to a new weapon against malaria

One of the world's most devastating diseases is   malaria , responsible for at least a million deaths annually, despite global efforts to combat it. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, working with collaborators from Drexel University, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Johns Hopkins University, have identified a protein in human blood platelets that points to a powerful new weapon against the disease. Their work was published in this months' issue of Cell Host and Microbe. Malaria is caused by parasitic microorganisms of the Plasmodium genus, which infect red blood cells. Recent research at other universities showed that blood platelets can bind to infected red blood cells and kill the parasite, but the exact mechanism was unclear. The investigators on the Cell Host and Microbe paper hypothesized that it might involve host defense peptides (HDP) secreted by the platelets. "We eventually found that a single...

Protein in human blood platelets points to a new weapon against malaria

One of the world's most devastating diseases is   malaria , responsible for at least a million deaths annually, despite global efforts to combat it. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, working with collaborators from Drexel University, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Johns Hopkins University, have identified a protein in human blood platelets that points to a powerful new weapon against the disease. Their work was published in this months' issue of Cell Host and Microbe. Malaria is caused by parasitic microorganisms of the Plasmodium genus, which infect red blood cells. Recent research at other universities showed that blood platelets can bind to infected red blood cells and kill the parasite, but the exact mechanism was unclear. The investigators on the Cell Host and Microbe paper hypothesized that it might involve host defense peptides (HDP) secreted by the platelets. "We eventually found that a single...