Flagella News and Research

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Ancient algae may hold key to treating malaria and related parasites

Researchers have discovered that parasites of the Apicomplexa taxon, such as Plasmodium falciparum and Toxoplasma gondii, reproduce within host cells using a structure that evolved from a flagellum.

12 Dec 2012

Men with wider variation in sperm length have fertility problems

Perhaps variety is the very spice of life, but as a matter of producing human life, it could be the bane of existence. That's the indication of a new study in the journal Human Reproduction that found men with wider variation in sperm length, particularly in the flagellum, had lower concentrations of sperm that could swim well. Those with more consistently made sperm seemed to have more capable ones.

14 Nov 2012

Male infertility linked to an enzyme complex issue

An enzyme complex present in sperm plasma membranes plays an important role in the overproduction of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress in sperm with abnormal morphology, researchers have shown.

15 Oct 2012

Scientists dissect how sperm cells of the fruit fly build their flagella

Sperm swim, lung cells sweep mucus away, and the cells in the female Fallopian tube move eggs from the ovary to the uterus. Underlying these phenomena are flagella - slender, hair-like structures extending from the surface of the cells, that bend, beat or wave rhythmically. In the latest issue of the journal Developmental Cell, scientists from the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), in Portugal, have dissected how sperm cells of the fruit fly build their flagella.

14 Aug 2012

Biochemists map structure of key protein-RNA complex required for assembly of telomerase

UCLA biochemists have mapped the structure of a key protein-RNA complex that is required for the assembly of telomerase, an enzyme important in both cancer and aging.

20 Jun 2012

Ripeness of fruit determines how food-poisoning bacteria grow on them

The ripeness of fruit could determine how food-poisoning bacteria grow on them, according to scientists presenting their work at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Dublin this week. Their work could lead to new strategies to improve food safety, bringing many health and economic benefits.

27 Mar 2012

Study investigates how cytokine IFN-λ release is regulated

In new research appearing in this month's issue of the journal Nature Immunology, Roy Curtiss, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, along with international collaborators, investigates the coordination of a particular type of immune response, involving the release of of IFN-λ- a cell-signaling protein molecule known as a cytokine.

10 Feb 2012

Study explains how bacterial biofilms expand to form slimy mats on teeth, surgical instruments

New research at Harvard explains how bacterial biofilms expand to form slimy mats on teeth, pipes, surgical instruments, and crops.

23 Jan 2012

Genetically identical Salmonella appear in 2 types, each with an infective advantage

An unusual regulatory mechanism that controls the swimmer/non-swimmer option in genetically identical Salmonella also impacts the bacteria's ability to cause infection.

9 Dec 2011

Fungi and bacteria help one another stay mobile

Bacteria and fungi are remarkably mobile. Now researchers at Tel Aviv University have discovered that the two organisms enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship to aid them in that movement - and their survival.

29 Nov 2011

Scarab Genomics, CellMed enter agreement for Clean Genome E. coli Technology

Scarab Genomics announced a strategic agreement today with CellMed AG, a BTG International group company, in which CellMed AG will use Scarab Genomics' Clean Genome E. coli Technology in a new product development in the life science field.

7 Apr 2011

African sleeping sickness parasite's previously unrecognized extreme social behavior discovered

Long considered a freewheeling loner, the Trypanosoma brucei parasite responsible for African sleeping sickness has revealed a totally unexpected social side, opening a potential chink in the behavioral armor of this and other supposedly solitary human parasites, according to research presented at the American Society for Cell Biology's 50th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

15 Dec 2010

Scientists find new replicating mechanism of Salmonella bacteria

New findings by National Institutes of Health scientists could explain how Salmonella bacteria, a common cause of food poisoning, efficiently spread in people. In a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers describe finding a reservoir of rapidly replicating Salmonella inside epithelial cells. These bacteria are primed to infect other cells and are pushed from the epithelial layer by a new mechanism that frees the Salmonella to infect other cells or be shed into the intestine.

3 Oct 2010

Japanese scientists identify long-elusive enzyme necessary for proper regulation of cilia

It's safe to say that cilia, the hairlike appendages jutting out from the smooth surfaces of most mammalian cells, have long been misunderstood - underestimated, even.

8 Jul 2010

'Micro-ear' to screen for malaria, sleeping sickness

A team of researchers from the Universities of Glasgow and Oxford, and the UK's National Institute of Medical Research at Mill Hill, are developing a 'micro-ear' which may help develop medicines and screening for diseases such as malaria and sleeping sickness in Africa. The project is in two parts, explains Professor Jon Cooper, a bio-engineer at University of Glasgow.

14 Jun 2010

Researchers develop biosensors to monitor concentration of c-di-GMP within single living bacteria cells

Some species of bacteria perform an amazing reproductive feat. When the single-celled organism splits in two, the daughter cell - the swarmer - inherits a propeller to swim freely. The mother cell builds a stalk to cling to surfaces.

4 Jun 2010

CBC, Scarab Genomics form agreement to increase manufacturing yield of Solinex rhu-pGSN

Critical Biologics Corporation (CBC) and Scarab Genomics announced today a strategic agreement to substantially increase the manufacturing yield of CBC's lead therapeutic protein candidate, Solinex™, an intravenous formulation of recombinant human plasma gelsolin (rhu-pGSN).

30 Apr 2010

Exposure to dust after WTC collapse impairs ability to detect odors and sense irritants

Individuals involved in rescue, recovery, demolition, and clean-up after the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster on September 11, 2001, were exposed to a complex mixture of airborne smoke, dust, combustion gases, acid mists, and metal fumes. The impact of this exposure on responders' upper and lower respiratory function has been well documented, but little is known about its impact on their sensitivity to odor and irritants.

19 Apr 2010

NIH awards a $2.2M grant to biochemist for a high-resolution electron microscope

Waltham, MA-Researchers' ability to rapidly detect the macromolecular protein clumps implicated in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases will soon get a sizable boost in the lab of biochemist and Howard Hughes Medical Investigator Nikolaus Grigorieff. The National Institutes of Health has just awarded Grigorieff a $2.2 million grant for a second high-resolution electron microscope (EM) in his lab.

8 Oct 2009

Tiny filaments extending from cells may play a role in common malignant brain tumors

UCSF scientists have discovered that a tiny filament extending from cells, until recently regarded as a remnant of evolution, may play a role in the most common malignant brain tumor in children.

24 Aug 2009