Basic science shows how a single mutation causes ataxia

Worldwide, only a handful of patients are known to suffer from episodic ataxia type 6, a neurological disease that causes transient loss of muscle control. The cause lies in a mutation that changes a single amino acid in ...

Describing the mechanism by which oxygen in the blood is detected

Hypoxia (oxygen deficiency), in addition to occurring in areas of considerable altitude, is a critical factor linked to various cardiopulmonary diseases of high morbidity and mortality in humans. The carotid body, a highly ...

Cilia in 3D: Miniature 'train station' discovered

Cilia are small hair-like organelles that extend from cells and perform many functions, including motility and signaling. Researchers have now revealed that cilia have a specialized transport hub at their base, where trains ...

Exploring flow transport in egg cells

Northwestern Medicine scientists discovered a new and unique transport mechanism within developing egg cells in fruit flies, according to a study published in eLife.

First evidence of microtubules' mechanosensitive behavior

Inside cells, microtubules not only serve as a component of the cytoskeleton (cell skeleton) but also play a role in intracellular transport. In intracellular transport, microtubules act as rails for motor proteins such as ...

Starving tuberculosis of sugars may be a new way to fight it

Tuberculosis is a devastating disease that claims over 1.5 million lives each year. The increase in TB cases that are resistant to the current antibiotics means that novel drugs to kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) are ...

How a plant regulates its growth

Plants grow towards the light. This phenomenon, which already fascinated Charles Darwin, has been observed by everyone who owns houseplants. Thus, the plant ensures that it can make the best use of light to photosynthesize ...

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