Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have conducted a study that has determined the role that a critical protein plays in the development of hair cells. These hair cells are vital for hearing. Some of these cells amplify sounds that come into the ear, and others transform sound waves into electrical… Read More »
Infertility affects one in seven men of reproductive age worldwide. One idea for treating male sterility is spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) therapy. In this approach, sperm stem cells in the testis are transferred to a test tube, cultured and nudged into becoming fully fledged sperm. However, a key bottleneck has been identifying just the right… Read More »
Cardiac Muscle cells are striated, just as cardiac skeletal muscle and are found only in the heart. Figure 3 illustrates the initiation of long impulse in the SA node that then cells the impulse throughout the atria to the atrioventricular node. Unlike gap junctions, desmosomes, also are of the sarcolemma, serve to anchor ends of… Read More »
Persistent inflammation of the pancreas (chronic pancreatitis) is a known risk factor for developing pancreatic cancer, the third-deadliest cancer in the United States. Tuft cells — cells sensitive to chemical (chemosensory) changes typically found in the intestines and respiratory tract — had previously been discovered in the pancreas, but their function has largely remained a… Read More »
By William Weir When it comes to heart disease, the health of the scaffold where cardiac cells grow may be a much bigger factor than previously believed. Stuart Campbell, associate professor of biomedical engineering & cellular and molecular physiology, led a team of researchers examined the effects of a diseased extracellular matrix (ECM) — the… Read More »