News tagged with white blood cells

Engineered cytomegalovirus protects monkeys from HIV equivalent

(Medical Xpress)—A new study by researchers in the US has shown that an ancient virus can be modified to help in the fight against the simian immunodeficiency virus SIV, which is the equivalent in monkeys ...

HIV & AIDS created 14 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Team finds antibody that transforms bone marrow stem cells directly into brain cells

In a serendipitous discovery, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found a way to turn bone marrow stem cells directly into brain cells.

Medical research created Apr 22, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (11) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

White blood cells found to play key role in controlling red blood cell levels

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have found that macrophages – white blood cells that play a key role in the immune response – also ...

Medical research created Mar 17, 2013 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Wolf in sheep's clothing: Uncovering how deadly bacteria trick immune system

An outbreak of tuberculosis in the skid row area of downtown Los Angeles may have exposed up to 4,500 individuals to the bacterium that causes the deadly disease and has left federal officials scrambling ...

Medical research created Feb 28, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study finds mutations linked to relapse of childhood leukemia

After an intensive three-year hunt through the genome, medical researchers have pinpointed mutations that leads to drug resistance and relapse in the most common type of childhood cancer—the first time anyone has linked ...

Genetics created Feb 03, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Genes and their regulatory 'tags' conspire to promote rheumatoid arthritis, study finds

In one of the first genome-wide studies to hunt for both genes and their regulatory "tags" in patients suffering from a common disease, researchers have found a clear role for the tags in mediating genetic ...

Genetics created Jan 20, 2013 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Mouse study offers clues to obesity-diabetes link

(HealthDay)—Obesity and type 2 diabetes are clearly intertwined, but researchers say they've found a way to weaken the connection between the two—at least in mice.

Medical research created Dec 06, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Double duty: Immune system regulator found to protect brain from effects of stroke

A small molecule known to regulate white blood cells has a surprising second role in protecting brain cells from the deleterious effects of stroke, Johns Hopkins researchers report. The molecule, microRNA-223, affects how ...

Immunology created Nov 28, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Brain displays an intrinsic mechanism for fighting infection

(Medical Xpress)—White blood cells have long reigned as the heroes of the immune system. When an infection strikes, the cells, produced in bone marrow, race through the blood to fight off the pathogen. ...

Medical research created Nov 19, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Neutrophils: White blood cells mediate insulin resistance

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say neutrophils, an abundant type of white blood cell typically tasked with attacking bacteria and other foreign invaders, also plays ...

Medical research created Aug 05, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Pioneering research shows drug can purge dormant HIV

Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have published pioneering research showing that a drug used to treat certain types of lymphoma was able to dislodge hidden virus in patients receiving treatment ...

HIV & AIDS created Jul 25, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Helper T cells, not killer T cells, might be responsible for clearing hepatitis A infection

Helper cells traditionally thought to only assist killer white blood cells may be the frontline warriors when battling hepatitis A infection. These are the findings from a Nationwide Children's Hospital study appearing in ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Jul 16, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists find new mechanism by which cell signaling pathway contributes to rheumatoid arthritis development

A new study led by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery identifies the mechanism by which a cell signaling pathway contributes to the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In addition, the study provides evidence ...

Immunology created May 20, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists identify novel pathway for T-cell activation in leprosy

UCLA researchers pinpointed a new mechanism that potently activates T-cells, the group of white blood cells that play a major role in fighting infections.

Medical research created Mar 25, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists find new potential target for rheumatoid arthritis

Newcastle University scientists, in work funded by Arthritis Research UK, have discovered a new way of potentially treating rheumatoid arthritis. This works by preventing damaging white blood cells cells from entering the ...

Inflammatory disorders created Mar 05, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

White blood cell

White blood cells (WBCs), or leukocytes (also spelled "leucocytes"), are cells of the immune system defending the body against both infectious disease and foreign materials. Five different and diverse types of leukocytes exist, but they are all produced and derived from a multipotent cell in the bone marrow known as a hematopoietic stem cell. Leukocytes are found throughout the body, including the blood and lymphatic system.

The number of leukocytes in the blood is often an indicator of disease. There are normally between 4×109 and 1.1×1010 white blood cells in a litre of blood, making up approximately 1% of blood in a healthy adult. An increase in the number of leukocytes over the upper limits is called leukocytosis, and in leukopenia, this number is much lower than the lower limit. The physical properties of leukocytes, such as volume, conductivity, and granularity, may change due to activation, the presence of immature cells, or the presence of malignant leukocytes in leukemia.

For more information about White blood cell, read the full article at Wikipedia.
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