News tagged with white blood cells

Researchers identify mechanism that maintains stem cells readiness

An immune-system receptor plays an unexpected but crucially important role in keeping stem cells from differentiating and in helping blood cancer cells grow, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center report today in the ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 31, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New microscope uses rainbow of light to image the flow of individual blood cells

Blood tests convey vital medical information, but the sight of a needle often causes anxiety and results take time. A new device developed by a team of researchers in Israel, however, can reveal much the same ...

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created May 21, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

In a new microchip, cells separate by rolling away

Cell rolling is a common mechanism cells use to navigate through the body. During inflammation, for example, the endothelial cells that line blood vessels present certain molecules that attract white blood ...

Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry

created Feb 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Pigeons' navigation skill not down to iron-rich beak cells: study

The theory that pigeons' famous skill at navigation is down to iron-rich nerve cells in their beaks has been disproved by a new study published in Nature.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 11, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 11 | with audio podcast

'I'm a tumor and I'm over here!' Nanovaults used to prod immune system to fight cancer (w/ video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- UCLA scientists have discovered a way to wake up the immune system to fight cancer by delivering an immune system-stimulating protein in a nanoscale container called a vault directly into ...

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created May 03, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists find the 'master switch' for key immune cells in inflammatory diseases

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have identified a protein that acts as a "master switch" in certain white blood cells, determining whether they promote or inhibit inflammation. The study, published in the journal ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Jan 16, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (12) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New level of genetic diversity in human RNA sequences uncovered

A detailed comparison of DNA and RNA in human cells has uncovered a surprising number of cases where the corresponding sequences are not, as has long been assumed, identical. The RNA-DNA differences generate proteins that ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 19, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Researchers sequence multiple myeloma genome in landmark study

Using new genome sequencing technologies, researchers from the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center joined colleagues from 20 major North American research institutions to publish the first complete ...

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Mar 23, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Why fish oils work swimmingly against diabetes

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified the molecular mechanism that makes omega-3 fatty acids so effective in reducing chronic inflammation and insulin resistance.

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Sep 02, 2010 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (22) | comments 1 | 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

The code for survival: Cells fight stress by reprogramming a system of RNA modifications

(PhysOrg.com) -- When cells are exposed to life-threatening stresses, they take quick action to save themselves. Among other defenses, they start manufacturing proteins that perform critical tasks such as ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Dec 17, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Polymer science team designs new nanotech technique for lower-cost materials repair

(PhysOrg.com) -- In the super-small world of nanostructures, a team of polymer scientists and engineers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have discovered how to make nano-scale repairs to a damaged ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Jan 12, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study shows that blood stem cells are influenced by their offspring

A new study by researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, has shown that mature blood cells can communicate with, and influence the behaviour of, their stem cell 'parents'.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 29, 2010 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Cancer-killing cells are caught on film in more 3D detail than ever before

Scientists reveal in more detail than ever before how white blood cells kill diseased tissue using deadly granules, in research published today in PLoS Biology.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Sep 14, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Nanoparticle boosted T-cells take on cancer

(PhysOrg.com) -- According to a study in Nature, Darrell Irvine from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his team members have found a way to boost the natural immune system when it comes to fighting cancer by arm ...

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created May 05, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

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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