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.
For terrestrial creatures, including humans, to survive, they must drink plenty of water and eat enough salt. Neural pathways comprising many brain regions intriguingly control both thirst and salt appetite.
The communities of microorganisms connected to plants can change as a result of human domestication of crops, according to recent research headed by the University of Oxford.
A new study from Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University published in the journal Microbiome has found changes in the microbiome in multiple locations in the body are linked to the formation of kidney stones.
When plants are infected by pathogens, suffer from a lack of water or have to react to other external stimuli, the first thing they do is increase the proton and calcium concentration in the affected cells.
Acting as the main interface between the internal and the external world, the skin is the largest and most important organ of the human body.
In this interview, we speak to Umberto Olcese, an Associate Professor at the University of Amsterdam, to delve into the complex and fascinating world of consciousness from a neuroscientific perspective.
We speak to Dr. Ruth Kroschewski about new research that details the existence of an 'exclusome', a cytoplasmic container that appears to explain where extra-chromosomal DNA goes once it is in a cell.
Florida State University scientists have uncovered answers to a conundrum in Earth's history: Why did marine life experience an extraordinary boom millions of years ago?
The genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus encodes 29 proteins, one of which is an ion channel called E. This channel, which transports protons and calcium ions, induces infected cells to launch an inflammatory response that damages tissues and contributes to the symptoms of Covid-19.
An international team of scientists has identified nearly a dozen genes that contribute to calcium buildup in our coronary arteries that can lead to life-threatening coronary artery disease, a condition responsible for up to one in four deaths in the United States.
Neutrophils, the most prevalent kind of white blood cell, are able to block Candida albicans toxin, according to study from Umeå University. EMBO Reports has published the findings.
Imagine a cool autumn day, where a few things go together as well as a warm drink and a delicious pastry. But what if those leftover tea leaves or coffee grounds from beverages can be used to make a treat that is not only tastier but also healthier?
A group of researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed the world's first microrobot ("microbot") capable of navigating within groups of cells and stimulating individual cells.
Studying the complex interactions between synaptic nerve endings as well as their development has now become much easier.
Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital reveal how damage to the cell’s energy factory causes muscle wasting. Closing a pore in the mitochondrial membrane in gene-edited mice prevents disease progression.
Diabetes is a condition in which the body produces too little or no insulin. Diabetics thus depend on an external supply of this hormone via injection or pump. Researchers led by Martin Fussenegger from the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at ETH Zurich in Basel want to make the lives of these people easier and are looking for solutions to produce and administer insulin directly in the body.
To understand the full relationship between brain activity and behavior, scientists have needed a way to map this relationship for all of the neurons across a whole brain-;a so far insurmountable challenge.
New animal research suggests that little-studied brain cells known as astrocytes are major players in controlling sleep need and may someday help humans go without sleep for longer without negative consequences such as mental fatigue and impaired physical health.
Investigators have grown bacterial cells in potential sand-based construction materials, according to a recent study published in Research Directions: Biotechnology Design, a new journal from Cambridge University Press.
A University of California, Irvine-led team of researchers working at the Center for Neural Circuit Mapping find links between brain disorders and dysfunction of newly identified inhibitory brain cell types.
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