Calcium, the most abundant mineral in the body, is found in some foods, added to others, available as a dietary supplement, and present in some medicines (such as antacids). Calcium is required for muscle contraction, blood vessel expansion and contraction, secretion of hormones and enzymes, and transmitting impulses throughout the nervous system. The body strives to maintain constant concentrations of calcium in blood, muscle, and intercellular fluids, though less than <1% of total body calcium is needed to support these functions.
The remaining 99% of the body's calcium supply is stored in the bones and teeth where it supports their structure. Bone itself undergoes continuous remodeling, with constant resorption and deposition of calcium into new bone. The balance between bone resorption and deposition changes with age. Bone formation exceeds resorption in growing children, whereas in early and middle adulthood both processes are relatively equal. In aging adults, particularly among postmenopausal women, bone breakdown exceeds formation, resulting in bone loss that increases the risk of osteoporosis over time.
According to a new study, the coastal protection presently provided by coral reefs will begin to deteriorate toward the end of the century, as the oceans acidify.
A Rutgers study has discovered that vitamin D regulates calcium in a section of the intestine that previously was thought not to have played a key role.
A protein called CatSper1 may act as a molecular 'barcode' that helps determine which sperm cells will make it to an egg and which are eliminated along the way.
Phosphorus is a necessary nutrient for plants to grow. But when it's applied to plants as part of a chemical fertilizer, phosphorus can react strongly with minerals in the soil, forming complexes with iron, aluminum and calcium.
Researchers have recently discovered how the function of therapeutically relevant ion channels is regulated by drug-like small molecules.
A new, groundbreaking study from the University of Bergen (UiB) shows that a patients' own stem cells can be used to grow new bone. This can potentially help millions of people who are partially edentulous and have insufficient bone for the placement of dental implants.
MIT chemists have determined the molecular structure of a protein found in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This protein, called the envelope protein E, forms a cation-selective channel and plays a key role in the virus's ability to replicate itself and stimulate the host cell's inflammation response.
Mega-droughts - droughts that last two decades or longer - are tipped to increase thanks to climate change, according to University of Queensland-led research.
To identify new potential therapeutic targets for SARS-CoV-2, a team of scientists at the New York Genome Center, New York University, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, performed a genome-scale, loss-of-function CRISPR screen to systematically knockout all genes in the human genome.
In humans, vitamin D is formed in the skin following its exposure to sunlight. In comparison to the body's own formation of vitamin D, dietary consumption generally makes up only a relatively small proportion of the vitamin D supply to the body.
Multidrug resistance, or MDR, is a process in which tumors become impervious to numerous drugs and is a major cause of failure in cancer chemotherapy.
Drugs of abuse, like cocaine, are so addictive due in part to their cellular interaction, creating strong cellular memories in the brain that promote compulsive behaviors.
Dietary supplementation of fatty acids produced from microalgae have wide-reaching health benefits for humans, including the ability to reduce obesity, diabetes and fatty liver disease, preventing hair loss, and assisting wounds to heal.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) -- nanometer sized messengers that travel between cells to deliver cues and cargo -- are promising tools for the next generation of therapies for everything from autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases to cancer and tissue injury.
Climate change poses a threat to the world's subsistence crops. Heatwaves, which are likely to intensify according to climate evolution predictions, are generating levels of heat stress that are damaging to agricultural production.
A mice study has revealed a novel gene that is crucial for short-term memory but works in a part of the brain that is not usually linked to memory.
Human cells are required to work similar to well-oiled machines to maintain the proper function of individuals’ body.
Researchers at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique, in collaboration with American scientists, have uncovered a new parvovirus strategy for reaching the cell nucleus which is their site of replication.
Pollution particles, including metals, have been found in the placentas of fifteen women in London, according to research led by Queen Mary University of London.
Scientists have made enormous strides in the field of structural biology, looking into the activities of nature at the smallest scale.
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