News tagged with immune cells

New study finds titan cells protect Cryptococcus

Giant cells called "titan cells" protect the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans during infection, according to two University of Minnesota researchers. Kirsten Nielsen, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department of microb ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 28, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Zooming in on bacterial weapons in 3-D

The plague, bacterial dysentery, and cholera have one thing in common: These dangerous diseases are caused by bacteria which infect their host using a sophisticated injection apparatus. Through needle-like ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 21, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

What makes a worm say 'yuck'

Researchers at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) say they have uncovered a way that animals detect pathogens in their bodies that allows their systems to respond before cellular damage ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 15, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers discover novel approach to stimulate immune cells

Researchers at Rutgers University have uncovered a new way to stimulate activity of immune cell opiate receptors, leading to efficient tumor cell clearance.

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created May 11, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Researchers have a natural sidekick that may resolve the antibiotic-resistant bacteria dilemma

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to be a global concern with devastating repercussions, such as increased healthcare costs, potential spread of infections across continents, and prolonged illness.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 25, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Salmonella infection, but not as we know it

Researchers at Cambridge University have shed new light on a common food poisoning bug. Using real-time video microscopy, coupled with mathematical modelling, they have changed our assumptions about Salmonella and how it ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 25, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New fluorescent biosensor reveals mechanism critical to immune system amplification

Using a new fluorescent biosensor they developed, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have discovered how a key set of immune cells exchange information during their coordinated assault on invading pathogens. The immune ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Apr 23, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Studies reveal how cells distinguish between disease-causing and innocuous invaders

(Phys.org) -- The specific mechanisms by which humans and other animals are able to discriminate between disease-causing microbes and innocuous ones in order to rapidly respond to infections have long been ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 13, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 2

Cells on the move

Cells on the move reach forward with lamellipodia and filopodia, cytoplasmic sheets and rods supported by branched networks or tight bundles of actin filaments. Cells without functional lamellipodia are still ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

A 24-karat gold key to unlock the immune system

Developing a drug or vaccine requires a delicate balancing act with the immune system. On one hand, medications need to escape detection by the immune system in order to perform their function. But vaccinations ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Mar 26, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Protein complex affects cells' ability to move, respond to external cues

In a paper published today in the journal, Cell, a team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has explained for the first time how a long-studied protein complex affects cell migration and how external cues a ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Mar 01, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Investigators predict, confirm how E. coli bacteria hijack cells' directional mechanism

Working in the emerging field of systems biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers mathematically predicted how bacteria that cause food poisoning hijack a cell's sense of direction and then confirmed those predictions ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Mar 01, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Frontal attack or stealth? How subverting the immune system shapes the arms race between bacteria and hosts

Why is it that Mycobacterium tuberculosis can cause tuberculosis with as little as 10 cells, whereas Vibrio cholerae requires the host to ingest up to tens of millions of cells to cause cholera? This is the ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Feb 27, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Toxins from diseased brain cells make diseases of the brain even worse

Sometimes our immune defence attacks our own cells. When this happens in the brain we see neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. But if the the immune defence is inhibited, the results ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Feb 22, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Honeycomb structure responsible for bacteria's extraordinary sense

(PhysOrg.com) -- Cornell researchers have peered into the complex molecular network of receptors that give one-celled organisms like bacteria the ability to sense their environment and respond to chemical ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Feb 20, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (11) | comments 4 | 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.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.