Nature's Robots

Nature's Robots
Author: Charles Tanford
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2003-11-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0191578517

Proteins are amazingly versatile molecules. They make the chemical reactions happen that form the basis for life, they transmit signals in the body, they identify and kill foreign invaders, they form the engines that make us move, and they record visual images. All of this is now common knowledge, but it was not so a hundred years ago. Nature's Robots is an authoritative history of protein science, from the origins of protein research in the nineteenth century, when the chemical constitution of 'protein' was first studied and heatedly debated and when there was as yet no glimmer of the functional potential of substances in the 'protein' category, to the determination of the first structures of individual proteins at atomic resolution - when positions of individual atoms were first specified exactly and bonding between neighbouring atoms precisely defined. Tanford and Reynolds, who themselves made major contributions to the golden age of protein science, have written a remarkably vivid account of this history. It is a fascinating story, involving heroes from the past, working mostly alone or in small groups, usually with little support from formal research groups. It is also a story that embraces a number of historically important scientific controversies. Written in clear and accessible prose, Nature's Robots will appeal to general readers with an interest in popular science, in addition to professional scientists and historians of science.

Mechanisms of Insulin Action

Mechanisms of Insulin Action
Author: Alan R. Saltiel
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2007-10-05
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0387722041

More than 18 million people in the United States have diabetes mellitus, and about 90% of these have the type 2 form of the disease. This book attempts to dissect the complexity of the molecular mechanisms of insulin action with a special emphasis on those features of the system that are subject to alteration in type 2 diabetes and other insulin resistant states. It explores insulin action at the most basic levels, through complex systems.

Mitochondria in Skeletal Muscle Health, Aging and Diseases

Mitochondria in Skeletal Muscle Health, Aging and Diseases
Author: Gilles Gouspillou
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2017-02-09
Genre:
ISBN: 2889450732

Skeletal muscle is the most abudant tissue of the human body, making up to 40 to 50% of the human body mass. While the importance of optimal muscle function is well recognized in the athletic field, its significance for general health is often underappreciated. In fact, the evidence that muscle mass, strength and metabolism are essential for our overall health is overwhelming. As the largest protein reservoir in the human body, muscles are essential in the acute response to critical illness such as sepsis, advanced cancer, and traumatic injury. Loss of skeletal muscle mass has also been associated with weakness, fatigue, insulin resistance, falls, fractures, frailty, disability, several chronic diseases and death. As a consequence, maintaining skeletal muscle mass, strength and metabolism throughout the lifespan is critical to the maintenance of whole body health. Mitochondria are fascinating organelles regulating many critical cellular processes for skeletal muscle physiology, including for instance energy supply, reactive oxygen species production, calcium homeostasis and the regulation of apoptosis. It is therefore not surprising that mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in a large number of adverse events/conditions and pathologies affecting skeletal muscle health. While the importance of normal mitochondrial function is well recognized for muscle physiology, there are important aspects of mitochondrial biology that are still poorly understood. These include mitochondrial dynamics (fusion and fission processes), morphology and processes involved in mitochondrial quality control (mitophagy). Defining the mechanisms regulating these different aspects of mitochondrial biology, their importance for muscle physiology, as well as the interrelations will be critical for expanding understanding of the role played by mitochondria in skeletal muscle physiology and health. The present research topic provides readers with novel experimental approaches, knowledge, hypotheses and findings related to all aspects of mitochondrial biology in healthy and diseased muscle cells.

Mitochondrial Dysfunction

Mitochondrial Dysfunction
Author: Lawrence H. Lash
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 527
Release: 2013-10-22
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1483218619

Methods in Toxicology, Volume 2: Mitochondrial Dysfunction provides a source of methods, techniques, and experimental approaches for studying the role of abnormal mitochondrial function in cell injury. The book discusses the methods for the preparation and basic functional assessment of mitochondria from liver, kidney, muscle, and brain; the methods for assessing mitochondrial dysfunction in vivo and in intact organs; and the structural aspects of mitochondrial dysfunction are addressed. The text also describes chemical detoxification and metabolism as well as specific metabolic reactions that are especially important targets or indicators of damage. The methods for measurement of alterations in fatty acid and phospholipid metabolism and for the analysis and manipulation of oxidative injury and antioxidant systems are also considered. The book further tackles additional methods on mitochondrial energetics and transport processes; approaches for assessing impaired function of mitochondria; and genetic and developmental aspects of mitochondrial disease and toxicology. The text also looks into mitochondrial DNA synthesis, covalent binding to mitochondrial DNA, DNA repair, and mitochondrial dysfunction in the context of developing individuals and cellular differentiation. Microbiologists, toxicologists, biochemists, and molecular pharmacologists will find the book invaluable.

Exercise, Autophagy and Chronic Diseases

Exercise, Autophagy and Chronic Diseases
Author: Ning Chen
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2021-09-30
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9811645256

This book establishes a bridge between exercise-mediated functional status of autophagy and non-communicable chronic diseases for elucidating and clarifying the corresponding signal pathways and underlying mechanisms. The book consists of 13 chapters focusing on the in-depth discussion on signal pathways for regulating the functional status of autophagy for the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of chronic diseases, the optimization of exercise intervention strategies for common and frequently-occurring chronic diseases, and the development of exercise mimetic pills for the persons with disability for exercise performance, or the persons without willing to exercise. This book is interesting and will be useful to a wide readership in the various fields of exercise science, exercise fitness, sports medicine, preventive medicine, and functional foods.

Regulation of Organelle and Cell Compartment Signaling

Regulation of Organelle and Cell Compartment Signaling
Author: Ralph A. Bradshaw
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 553
Release: 2011-04-12
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0123822130

"Cell signaling, which is also often referred to as signal transduction or, in more specialized cases, transmembrane signaling, is the process by which cells communicate with their environment and respond temporally to external cues that they sense there. All cells have the capacity to achieve this to some degree, albeit with a wide variation in purpose, mechanism, and response. At the same time, there is a remarkable degree of similarity over quite a range of species, particularly in the eukaryotic kingdom, and comparative physiology has been a useful tool in the development of this field. The central importance of this general phenomenon (sensing of external stimuli by cells) has been appreciated for a long time, but it has truly become a dominant part of cell and molecular biology research in the past three decades, in part because a description of the dynamic responses of cells to external stimuli is, in essence, a description of the life process itself. This approach lies at the core of the developing fields of proteomics and metabolomics, and its importance to human and animal health is already plainly evident"--Provided by publisher.

The Unfolded Protein Response in Cancer

The Unfolded Protein Response in Cancer
Author: Robert Clarke
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2019-03-01
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 303005067X

This volume presents state-of-the-art information on each of the arms of the unfolded protein response (UPR), how their activation/repression are regulated, integrated, and coordinated, how UPR components affect cancer cell biology and responsiveness to therapeutic interventions, and how UPR components/activities offer potentially novel targets for drug discovery, repurposing, and development. The volume will provide the most recent information on the signaling and regulation of the UPR, explore examples of how the UPR and/or specific components contribute to cancer biology, and identify and explore specific examples of potently new actionable targets for drug discovery and development from within the UPR and its regulation. Unique to the volume will be a specific focus on the UPR and its role in cancer biology, as well as a discussion of the role of the UPR in drug responses and resistance in cancer.