The Sense of Smell Nov 4, 2009
These neurons project olfactory cilia, hair-like protrusions from a knob at the end of the cell, into a layer of mucus that lines the inside of the nasal cavity ... The cilia of the olfactory receptor neurons contain odorant receptors ... When an odorant molecule binds to a receptor protein on the olfactory receptor neuron s cilia, a G-protein associated with the particular odor activates an enzyme (adenylate cyclase) in the cell that converts the nucleotide ATP into cAMP, a kind of chemical... (Suite101.com)
4Doctors: Parents Should Heed Warnings on H1N1 and Children» Oct 14, 2009
Flu viruses can damage cilia, the hair-like fibers lining the respiratory tract that move bacteria and mucous "where we can cough them out" of the lungs, he explained. That can make people susceptible to pneumonia and other bacterial infections a scenario blamed for many flu deaths in otherwise healthy children and adults, he said. (Fox News)
A Simple Explanation of Adenosine T... Oct 14, 2009
Muscles use ATP energy to contract, cilia and flagella use ATP to move, neurons use this energy to send nerve signals along synapses and it is even used in by some organisms. Other Functions of ATP. (Suite101.com)
Photoswitches Shed Light On Spontaneous Free Swimming In Zebrafish Sep 23, 2009
The KA cells aren't standard relay neurons with dendrites and axons, but sensory neurons with cilia small, movable hairs that protrude into the spinal fluid, plus long axons extending up the spinal cord. They evidently sense something, but what, the researchers wondered. (Science Daily)
Mathematical keys to a sixth sense -- the lateral-line system Aug 29, 2009
Such an underwater vehicle is currently being developed within the framework of the EU project CILIA, in collaboration with the TUM chair for guidance and control technology. . (EurekAlert!)
Mathematical Keys To Fishy 'Sixth Sense' Aug 29, 2009
Such an underwater vehicle is currently being developed within the framework of the EU project CILIA, in collaboration with the TUM chair for guidance and control technology. Further research includes collaborations with the excellence cluster CoTeSys (Cognition for Technical Systems) and the newly created Leonardo da Vinci Center for Bionics at TUM, as well as with the chair for humanoid robots and the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience. (Science Daily)
Some skin cancer may be mediated by primary cilia activity Aug 24, 2009
The discovery in mice shows that the microscopic structures known as primary cilia can either suppress or promote this skin cancer, depending on the mutation triggering the disease. The finding suggests that drugs that boost or block primary cilia activity could offer a new strategy against cancer ... Unlike the more familiar motile cilia, primary cilia do not move, and only one pokes out of each cell. (EurekAlert!)
Some brain tumors may be mediated by tiny filament on cells Aug 24, 2009
The findings, both reported online on August 23, 2009 in "Nature Medicine," are the first direct evidence of a role of primary cilia in cancer, which the researchers say could lead to a new strategy for diagnosing subtypes of cancers and to potential targets for therapy ... "In the last few years, primary cilia have been shown to be essential for the cell-signaling that drives both human development, including the differentiation of stem cells into neurons, and some diseases, including... (EurekAlert!)
Mutations in gene linked to ciliopathies Aug 10, 2009
Ciliopathies are a newly emerging group of diseases caused by defects in the function or structure of cellular primary cilia, which are small, cellular appendages of previously unknown function ... However, in the past five years, the field of cilia biology has exploded due to the recognition that many of our basic bodily functions are regulated and "fine-tuned" by the cilium ... Because all of the genetic mutations led to an alteration in the enzyme activity, it suggests that the... (EurekAlert!)
* Poisonous alien plant species invades Hualien ruv~{uPv Aug 8, 2009
The Agriculture Division of the Jian Township Office has asked local residents and tourists to be wary of the plants poisonous cilia X hairlike protuberances on the plant X which can cause inflammation of the nose and even serious liver lesions. Parthenium, listed by the Council of Agricultures Endemic Species Research Institute as one of the 20 alien species most damaging to Taiwans ecology, is thought to have invaded Taiwan when it was mixed with imported grain, just like Mikania... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Sports)
New Insight Into Human Ciliopathy Aug 7, 2009
"5 years ago a human genetics study linked Hydrolethalus syndrome to a mutation in a protein named HYLS1. Since this discovery the function of HYLS1 has remained unknown. Our work solves this mystery, showing that HYLS1 is a centriolar protein required for the formation of cilia, small hair-like cellular projections that execute a variety of essential motile and sensory functions," explains Dr. Oegema ... Dr. Oegema and colleagues now show that the evolutionarily conserved HYLS1 protein is, in... (Science Daily)
Synchronized Swimming Of Algae Jul 30, 2009
In addition, the flagella of Chlamydomonas cells are nearly identical to the cilia in the human body. In many of life's processes, from reproduction to respiration, coordinated action of cilia plays a crucial role. (Science Daily)
Airway Cells Use 'Tasting' Mechanism To Detect And Clear Harmful Substances Jul 27, 2009
The hair-like protrusions, called motile cilia, were already known to beat in a wave-like motion to sweep away mucus, bacteria and other foreign particles from the lungs. The study is the first to show that motile cilia on airway cells not only have this "clearing" function, but also use the receptors to play a sensory role ... The researchers also found that when the receptors detect bitter compounds, the cilia beat faster, suggesting that the sensing and the motion capabilities of these... (Science Daily)
Airway cilia taste toxins Jul 25, 2009
Your sense of taste doesn't end in your mouth: Cilia lining airways leading to the lungs express taste receptors and alter their undulations in the presence of bitter chemicals, says a study online today (July 23)in Science. These cilia are linked to signaling pathways that regulate their motility, allowing epithelial tissues in airways to sense toxins or noxious compounds and help protect the lungs ... Motile cilia on airway epithelial cellsImage: SEM by Tom Moninger. (The Scientist)
How the respiratory system stays moist Jul 10, 2009
Along with the mucus, there are millions of tiny hairlike structures called cilia that line our upper respiratory tract ... Smoking causes cilia hairs to fall out, which is one reason why smokers get more respiratory infections than nonsmokers. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Health)
Dino exhibit might keep boredom away Jul 5, 2009
We'd never consider a T. rex as warm and fuzzy, yet scientists now think the young ones were covered in a cilia type of hair until they reached maturity. Who knew. (Athens Banner-Herald)
Stirred, Not Shaken: Bio-inspired Cilia Mix Medical Reagents At Small Scales Jul 3, 2009
Scientists at the University of Washington hope to speed up biomedical reactions by filling each well with tiny beating rods that mimic cilia, the hairlike appendages that line organs such as the human windpipe, where they sweep out dirt and mucus from the lungs ... In the past decade, various research groups have tried to develop structures that mimic cilia, which do the small-scale moving and shaking inside the human body ... The problem is that each cilium finger must be very flexible in... (Science Daily)
Human ear inspires universal radio antenna Jun 16, 2009
DiscoveryThe universal radio chip, as developed by MIT researchers, detects electromagnetic waves instead of pressure waves using circuits, in place of cilia, which are the thousands of tiny hairs in the human ear ... A spiral with thousands of tiny hairs, called cilia, of different sizes help the ear to separate out each frequency, from 100 hertz up to 10,000 hertz, and transmit that information to the brain ... To detect electromagnetic waves instead of pressure waves the MIT scientists used... (MSNBC -- Technology)
Why The Thumb Of The Right Hand Is On The Left Hand Side May 27, 2009
In 2005, Aanstad and her colleagues published a paper in the renowned journal Nature, in which they showed that Smo is concentrated at cilia (cellular projections) and also functions at the cilium. By using high-resolution fluorescence microscopy, we have now shown that in the new mutants a small genetic alteration at the extracellular part of this protein inhibits localization in the cilia and that while the cells identify the Hedgehog signals, they interpret the concentration incorrectly ,... (Science Daily)
Help for smokers Feb 17, 2009
1 to 9 months after quitting: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Test Reveals Genetic Defect That Causes Infertility In Pigs Feb 14, 2009
The KPL2 gene appears to affect the formation of cilia, which are hair-like organelles projecting from cells ... The cilia are able to sense the surrounding conditions and transmit signals to the cells, she explains ... Besides infertility, genetic defects in the cilia may be linked to blood pressure regulation, tumor development, kidney diseases and obesity. (Science Daily)
