News tagged with cell membrane

Related topics: cells , protein , lipid , molecules , cancer cells



Cell membrane

The cell membrane (also called the plasma membrane or plasmalemma) is the biological membrane separating the interior of a cell from the outside environment.

It is a semipermeable lipid bilayer found in all cells. It contains a wide variety of biological molecules, primarily proteins and lipids, which are involved in a vast array of cellular processes such as cell adhesion, ion channel conductance and cell signaling. The plasma membrane also serves as the attachment point for both the intracellular cytoskeleton and, if present, the extracellular cell wall.

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


Making a window for drug delivery in the blood-brain barrier

(Medical Xpress)—The blood-brain barrier (BBB) prevents most large or hydrophilic (polar) molecules from getting into the brain. For many neurological diseases, like Parkinson's, the presence of the BBB ...

Medical research created Apr 30, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Fusion and cell death in the development of skeletal muscle

(Medical Xpress)—Membrane fusion is a highly regulated event, both inside cells, and between them. From the moment a sperm first fuses with an egg, subsequent developmental events depend upon its proper ...

Medical research created Apr 26, 2013 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Study of the machinery of cells reveals clues to neurological disorder

(Medical Xpress)—Investigation by researchers from the University of Exeter and ETH Zurich has shed new light on a protein which is linked to a common neurological disorder called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

Neuroscience created May 16, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

FIU researchers develop new pathway to brain for medicine

Stumped for years by a natural filter in the body that allows few substances, including life-saving drugs, to enter the brain through the bloodstream, physicians who treat neurological diseases may soon have a new pathway ...

Medical research created May 06, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Study shows amniotic fluid stem cells, heart cells pass signals without touching

Stem cells drawn from amniotic fluid show promise for tissue engineering, but it's important to know what they can and cannot do. A new study by researchers at Rice University and Texas Children's Hospital ...

Medical research created May 02, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study uses Botox to find new wrinkle in brain communication

National Institutes of Health researchers used the popular anti-wrinkle agent Botox to discover a new and important role for a group of molecules that nerve cells use to quickly send messages. This novel ...

Medical research created May 02, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

T cells rely on 'rheostat' to help ensure that the immune response matches the threat

A properly functioning immune system is a lesson in balance, providing protection against disease without attacking healthy tissue. Work led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists and published recently in Nature Im ...

Immunology created Apr 30, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

The biology of fats in the body

When you have your cholesterol checked, the doctor typically gives you levels of three fats found in the blood: LDL, HDL and triglycerides. But did you know your body contains thousands of other types of fats, or lipids?

Medical research created Apr 29, 2013 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Exit discovered in cellular garbage truck: Immersed in the inner workings of a highly selective refuse collection

At the University of Geneva (UNIGE), the team led by Professor Jean Gruenberg has long been interested in the movement of lysosomes, the sub-compartments of cells to where endocytic vesicles deliver their waste content and ...

Medical research created May 09, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Food dye could provide 'blueprint' for treatment of Panx1-related diseases

The food dye Brilliant Blue FCF (BB FCF) could be a useful tool in the development of treatments for a variety of conditions involving the membrane channel protein Pannexin 1(Panx1), according to a study in The Journal of General Physi ...

Medical research created Apr 29, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0