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News tagged with mucus

Resistance to last-line antibiotic makes bacteria resistant to immune system

Bacteria resistant to the antibiotic colistin are also commonly resistant to antimicrobial substances made by the human body, according to a study in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microb ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created May 21, 2013 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

New immune system discovered

(Medical Xpress)—A research team, led by Jeremy Barr, a biology post-doctoral fellow, unveils a new immune system that protects humans and animals from infection.

Immunology created May 20, 2013 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (23) | comments 8 | with audio podcast

Gut microbe battles obesity

(Medical Xpress)—Akkermansia muciniphila is one of the many microbes that live in our intestines. This bacterium, which feeds on the intestine's mucus lining, comprises between 3 and 5 percent of the gut microbes of hea ...

Medical research created May 14, 2013 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (11) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Sniffing out solutions for millions of Americans with smell loss

Snot. It's not something most of us spend a lot of time thinking about, but, for a team of researchers in Washington, D.C., it's front and center. Robert I. Henkin, founder of the Taste and Smell Clinic in is charmingly self-deprecating. ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Apr 21, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Researchers use atomic force microscopy to decode secrets of our gut

A new technique based on atomic force microscopy was developed at the Institute of Food Research to help 'read' information encoded in the gut lining.

Medical research created Apr 12, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Early COPD diagnosis possible with nuclear medicine

In vivo ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) imaging can detect early changes to the lung caused by cigarette smoke exposure and provides a noninvasive method for studying lung dysfunction in preclinical models, according to research ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Apr 01, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

The nose's unheralded neighbor

Pity the poor maxillary sinuses. Those bulbous pouches on either side of the human nose are known more for trapping mucus and causing sinus infections than anything else. They were thought to be an evolutionary ...

Other created Mar 12, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

On the trail of mucus-eaters in the gut

The microbiology team of David Berry, Alexander Loy and Michael Wagner from the Faculty of Life Sciences, in collaboration with scientists at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (University of Vienna and the Medical ...

Medical research created Mar 05, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Fungi offers new clues in asthma fight

Hundreds of tiny fungal particles found in the lungs of asthma sufferers could offer new clues in the development of new treatments, according to a team of Cardiff University scientists.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Feb 19, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Court: Can generic makers be sued for drug flaws?

(AP)—The Supreme Court will decide whether generic drug manufacturers can be held responsible in state courts for possible design defects that are in the brand-name medicine they are copying.

Medications created Nov 30, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Drugs limiting excess mucus could save lives

Respiratory conditions that restrict breathing such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are common killers worldwide. But no effective treatments exist to address the major cause of ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Nov 26, 2012 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Insights into a new therapy for a rare form of cystic fibrosis

Scientists at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto have established that a drug recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat a rare form of cystic fibrosis works in an unconventional way. Their ...

Medical research created Oct 29, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Dangerous form of MRSA, endemic in many US hospitals, increasing in UK

Prevalence of a particularly dangerous form of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) jumped three-fold in just two years, in hospitals in the United Kingdom, according to a paper in the October 2012 Journal of ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Oct 23, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Mice at risk of asthma, allergies can fight off skin cancer

A molecule involved in asthma and allergies has now been shown to make mice resistant to skin cancer, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Cancer created Oct 15, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Human airways' 'Brush' mechanism gives clues to lung diseases

(HealthDay)—A new study that helps explain how human airways rid the lungs of mucus could give insights into asthma, cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), researchers say.

Medical research created Aug 23, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Mucus

In vertebrates, mucus (adjectival form: "mucous") is a slippery secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. Mucous fluid is typically produced from mucous cells found in mucous glands. Mucous cells secrete products that are rich in glycoproteins and water. Mucous fluid may also originate from mixed glands, which contain both serous and mucous cells. It is a viscous colloid containing antiseptic enzymes (such as lysozyme), immunoglobulins, inorganic salts, proteins such as lactoferrin, and glycoproteins known as mucins that are produced by goblet cells in the mucous membranes and submucosal glands. This mucus serves to protect epithelial cells in the respiratory, gastrointestinal, urogenital, visual, and auditory systems in mammals; the epidermis in amphibians; and the gills in fish. A major function of this mucus is to protect against infectious agents such as fungi, bacteria and viruses. The average human body produces about a litre of mucus per day.

Bony fish, hagfish, snails, slugs, and some other invertebrates also produce external mucus. In addition to serving a protective function against infectious agents, such mucus provides protection against toxins produced by predators, can facilitate movement and may play a role in communication.

For more information about Mucus, read the full article at Wikipedia.
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