During cold and flu season, excess mucus is a common, unpleasant symptom of illness, but the slippery substance is essential to human health. To better understand its many roles, researchers synthesized the major component ...
Biochemistry
Mar 18, 2024
0
67
Cancer cells can evade the body's immune defenses by exploiting a normally helpful and ubiquitous group of molecules known as mucins. Now, Stanford researchers have engineered a biomolecule that removes mucins specifically ...
Biotechnology
Aug 10, 2023
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50
Researchers from the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona have published a study in the journal Nature Communications that reveals how cells carry out the controlled release of mucins and insulin, two crucial ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 3, 2023
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78
A study led by Duke University has looked into the operating mechanisms of Akkermansia muciniphila, a gut microbe associated with lower rates of metabolic disorders.
Slime is everywhere. It shapes the consistency of your bodily fluids, from the saliva in your mouth to the goo that covers your organs. It protects you against pathogens, including coronavirus, while creating a home in your ...
Evolution
Aug 29, 2022
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19
From the slime coating slugs to the saliva in our mouths, many slippery bodily fluids contain mucus. So how did this marvel of biology evolve?
Evolution
Aug 26, 2022
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171
More than just a sign of illness, mucus is a critical part of our body's defenses against disease. Every day, our bodies produce more than a liter of the slippery substance, covering a surface area of more than 400 square ...
Polymers
Mar 30, 2021
1
68
Medications often have unwanted side-effects. One reason is that they reach not only the unhealthy cells for which they are intended, but also reach and have an impact on healthy cells. Researchers at the Technical University ...
Bio & Medicine
Sep 25, 2020
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44
The flu virus relies on using human cells to reproduce and spread. But before it even gets to the cell surface, the virus must navigate the tall, dense forest of sugar-coated proteins on the cell surface known as the glycocalyx. ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 27, 2020
0
90
The human body is full of mucus. This viscous goo isn't just a nuisance that gets coughed up or sneezed out—it can bind to drugs, toxins or microbes, potentially impacting human health. However, relatively little is known ...
Materials Science
Mar 13, 2019
0
3
