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

Scientists discover molecular secrets of 2,000-year-old Chinese herbal remedy

For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Feb 12, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (28) | comments 29 | with audio podcast

DNA nanorobot triggers targeted therapeutic responses

Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have developed a robotic device made from DNA that could potentially seek out specific cell targets within a complex ...

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Feb 16, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (9) | comments 8 | 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

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

New molecule discovered in fight against allergy

Scientists at The University of Nottingham have discovered a new molecule that could offer the hope of new treatments for people allergic to the house dust mite.

Chemistry / Biochemistry

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

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

Vaccines to boost immunity where it counts, not just near shot site

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have created synthetic nanoparticles that target lymph nodes and greatly boost vaccine responses, said lead author Ashley St. John, Ph.D., a researcher at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical ...

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Jan 22, 2012 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

The secret life of proteins: Researchers discover dual role of key player in immune system

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine researchers have identified a new and unusual role for a key player in the human immune system. A protein initially believed to regulate one routine function within the ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Jan 28, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Unveiling malaria's 'invisibility cloak'

The discovery by researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of a molecule that is key to malaria's 'invisibility cloak' will help to better understand how the parasite causes disease and escapes from the defenses ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jan 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Shedding light on how body fends off bacteria

To invade organisms such as humans, bacteria make use of a protein called flagellin, part of a tail-like appendage that helps the bacteria move about. Now, for the first time, a team led by scientists at The ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Feb 16, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | 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

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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