Public Health: Always more to discover Aug 30, 2008
Examined under a microscope, the blood revealed the plasmodium parasite in the red blood cells. Dr. Ross felt determined to test his developing theories on a connection between mosquitoes and disease. (Pembroke Mariner, MA)
New Test Identifies Heart Transplant Rejection Aug 29, 2008
Monitors gene activity in white blood cells ... The test monitors the genetic activity of a transplant recipient's white blood cells, the immune system's primary defense against viruses, bacteria and other germs, the FDA said in a news release. (U.S. News & World Report)
Heart Attack Prevention: Potential New Use For Viagra? Aug 29, 2008
The enzyme targeted by the Queen s researchers is known to regulate the activity of platelets: small blood cells needed for normal blood clotting ... MPO, or myeloperoxidase,is an enzyme produced by white blood cells. (Science Daily)
Nature Reports Stem Cells Aug 29, 2008
Red blood cells could provide new hope for beleaguered ACT. Embryonic stem cells don't need cortical signals to become neurons. (Nature News Service)
Blood test OKd for heart transplant rejection Aug 28, 2008
The test analyzes certain kinds of genetic information contained in white blood cells. These are the cells that help the body fight off infections but can also turn against a donated organ with devastating effects. (MSNBC -- Health)
Benefit planned for local businessman, Larry Schmidt ... Two outstanding seniors shine in ROTC at DLHS ... Connie Nicholas: Local woman running for Republican National Committee Secretary ... Devils Lake Churches added to National Register of Historic Places ... ';var marqueewidth="350px";var marqueeheight="25px";var marqueebgcolor="#FFFFFF";////NO NEED TO EDIT BELOW THIS LINE////////////var pauseit=1;var marqueespeed=1 //slow speed down by 1 for NSvar copyspeed=marqueespeedvar pausespeed=(pauseit==0)? copyspeed: 0var iedom=document.all||document.getElementByIdif (iedom)document.write(''+marqueecontent+'')var actualwidth=''var cross_marquee, ns_marqueefunction populate(){if (iedom){cross_marquee=document.getElementById? document.getElementById("iemarquee") : document.all.iemarqueecross_marquee.style.left=parseInt(marqueewidth)+8+"px"cross_marquee.innerHTML=marqueecontentactualwidth=document.all? temp.offsetWidth : document.getElementById("temp").offsetWidth}else if (document.layers){ns_marquee=document.ns_marquee.document.ns_marquee2ns_marquee.left=parseInt(marqueewidth)+8ns_marquee.document.write(marqueecontent)ns_marquee.document.close()actualwidth=ns_marquee.document.width}lefttime=setInterval("scrollmarquee()",20)}window.onload=populate;function scrollmarquee(){if (iedom){if (parseInt(cross_marquee.style.left)>(actualwidth*(-1)+8))cross_marquee.style.left=parseInt(cross_marquee.style.left)-copyspeed+"px"elsecross_marquee.style.left=parseInt(marqueewidth)+8+"px"}else if (document.layers){if (ns_marquee.left>(actualwidth*(-1)+8))ns_marquee.left-=copyspeedelsens_marquee.left=parseInt(marqueewidth)+8}}if (iedom||document.layers){with (document){document.write('')if (iedom){write('')write('')write('')write('')}else if (document.layers){write('')write('')write('')}document.write('')}}Thursday, August 28, 2008 Devils Lake resident Larry Schmidt is pictured with his girlfriend's great-nice Marin Davis. Schmidt is currently at a Seattle hospital where he will soon undergo a bone marrow transplant. Two benefits are planned locally to help with the expenses. Benefit planned for local businessman, Larry Schmidt Aug 28, 2008
He s not producing red blood cells like he should. Last Wednesday, Schmidt, 52, left for the Veterans Administration Hospital Seattle, WA, where he will undergo a bone marrow transplant. (Devils Lake Daily Journal, ND)
Blood Donations Needed Aug 28, 2008
Instead of the normal oval shape, Kings red blood cells are sickled ... It spreads the sickle cells out, and gives me more of the good red blood cells, and that's what I use to have a better prosperous life, she said. (WOKR13 Rochester)
New Role For Natural Killers Aug 28, 2008
28, 2008) Scientists at the University of York have discovered a new role for a population of white blood cells, which may lead to improved treatments for chronic infections and cancer ... Natural Killer (or NK) cells are abundant white blood cells that were recognised over 30 years ago as being able to kill cancer cells in the test tube ... Since that time, a role for NK cells in activating other white blood cells (including T lymphocytes and phagocytes) and in directing how the immune system... (Science Daily)
Profiling Protective Proteins In Dairy Cows Aug 28, 2008
He is using proteomics--the identification of the proteins that make up a cell--to identify and study neutrophils, the white blood cells that are a key part of the immune system. When dairy cows develop mastitis, a bacterial infection that costs dairy producers some 2 billion every year, neutrophils are an essential part of the immune response. (Science Daily)
Chronic Stress Alters Our Genetic Immune Response Aug 28, 2008
D., corresponding author, explains more simply that, although "caregivers have similar cortisol levels as controls, their cells seem to be 'hearing' less of this signal. In other words, something goes awry in caregivers' white blood cells so they are not able to 'receive' the signal from cortisol that tells them to shut down inflammation.". Thus, the current findings might help to explain why the caregivers would seem to be in a chronic pro-inflammatory state, a condition of immunologic... (Science Daily)
Cancer Cluster Confirmed In Pa. Region Aug 27, 2008
Researchers cautioned, though, that their investigation was not designed to uncover an environmental link to PV, a cancer that results in the overproduction of red blood cells and can lead to heart attack or stroke. PV's cause is unknown. (CBS News)
Dylan\'s leukemia is in remission but that doesn\'t mean his treatment\'s over. Aug 27, 2008
The family arrived at the hospital for testing April 25, and Dylan was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a cancer of the white blood cells on April 29. With this type of leukemia, malignant and immature white blood cells constantly multiply and overproduce in bone marrow. (Jefferson City News Tribune, MO)
Potential Diabetes Treatment Selectively Kills Autoimmune Cells From Human Patients Aug 27, 2008
26, 2008) In experiments using blood cells from human patients with diabetes and other autoimmune disorders, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have confirmed the mechanism behind a potential new therapy for type 1 diabetes. See also. (Science Daily)
Kneading Hands Opens New Facility Aug 27, 2008
"It's what you call Power Vinyasa Yoga. The intention is to sweat and detoxify, and get a little bit more of a workout. It also makes you more flexible, and increases circulation."Hot yoga has been shown to increase red blood cells," she said. "It brings more oxygen, more nutrients to the cells. "The new studio, which holds 32 comfortably, features a window wall with a tree-filled view, a special floor fitted with padded mats that are kind to the knees, special bubble insulation and a custom... (Voices, CT)
Moffitt wins federal financing for HPV study Aug 26, 2008
In 2004, it became the first drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of MDS. MDS is a cancer of the bone marrow stem cells in which the bone marrow fails to make enough functioning blood cells, either red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets. More than a third of patients progress to acute myeloid leukemia over time, Moffitt said. (Tampa Bay Business Journal, FL)
The MDS Foundation supports the FDA's decision to expand vidaza label to include survival data Aug 26, 2008
MDS affects the function of blood cells, either red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets. The incidence of MDS is underestimated. (EurekAlert! -- Business News)
Enzyme New Potential Target In Treating Blood Cancer Aug 25, 2008
The research team has developed a genetically modified mouse that produces a mutated and constantly active RAS protein in its bone marrow, where new blood cells are generated. These mice develop a form of leukemia that is similar to a number of forms of blood cancer in humans. (Science Daily)
Biodegradable Polymers Show Promise For Improving Treatment Of Acute Inflammatory Diseases Aug 25, 2008
18, 2003) Scientists have developed biodegradable polymers that can mimic the ability of white blood cells to target inflamed blood vessel walls, according to a new study led by Ohio University. (Jan. (Science Daily)
Blood stem cells could provide the money for stem cell life extension Aug 23, 2008
With the ability to become all of the blood cells including your immune cells, red blood cells, all of your blood system, as well as vasculature hemangioblasts have been biology s holy grail ... The hemangioblast, for instance, gives rise to one branch to blood cells, vessels, and the immune system ... With the ability to become all of the blood cells including your immune cells, red blood cells, all of your blood system, as well as vasculature hemangioblasts have been biology s holy grail. (Next Big Future)
Accumulated Bits Of A Cell's Own DNA Can Trigger Autoimmune Disease Aug 22, 2008
This antiviral program is coordinated by type I interferons (IFNs), which direct a multifaceted response to restrict viral replication within infected cells, alert neighboring cells to the presence of infection, and expand white blood cells to provide long-term and specific protection against the virus. The defense mechanism includes two systems: one consisting of "Toll-like receptors" on specialized, sentinel immune cells that monitor for infection and another that detects viral nucleic acids... (Science Daily)
Men, women and speed. 2 words: Got testosterone? Aug 22, 2008
The hormone affects everything from muscle size and strength to the size of the heart to the amount of oxygen-carrying blood cells in the body to the percentage of fat on an athlete's body ... Women lose blood when they menstruate, but they also do not make as many red blood cells. (International Herald Tribune)
FDA approves Vidaza label expansion Aug 22, 2008
This results in the production of too many defective blood cells and not enough normal cells. Diagnosis is made through blood tests and a bone marrow biopsy. (EurekAlert! -- Business News)
Kissing qualifies as sex: outrageous claim by Red Cross Aug 21, 2008
The treatment involves very intensive chemotherapy over six months, which in turn kills all the red and white blood cells, and requires regular blood transfusions. Burkitt s used to be relatively uncommon, but the number of diagnosed cases at St. Vinnies is slowly increasing. (Sydney Star Observer)
The final blogs of bone marrow cusader Adrian Sudbury Aug 21, 2008
" June 6 I am exhausted but it's worth it! The campaign is going well and thousands have signed our petition. The plan is now to raise the matter in Parliament this week, hopefully at PM's Questions on Wednesday. June 9 I'm trying to fight it, but my bone marrow is malfunctioning big time. My energy levels are terrible because I am not making enough red blood cells. Getting up feels like I'm lying under a cover of rubble that needs strength I no longer have to lift. But I still get up and I... (Mirror.co.uk)
Malaria drug potency is restored Aug 21, 2008
Chloroquine - which is far cheaper than more modern malaria drugs - works by blocking the way the parasite breaks down human haemoglobin contained in red blood cells ... Professor Ron Behrens, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said primaquine was not suitable for all patients, as it could trigger the break down of red blood cells in people with an enzyme deficiency. (Yahoo News -- Malaria)
New insights into the regulation of PTEN tumor suppression function Aug 21, 2008
Examination of the abnormal blood cells of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) led to the discovery that PTEN had become loosened from the nucleus. "From there, we observed that the loss of another tumor suppressor known as PML [whose mutation is a main cause of acute promyelocytic leukemia] was at the root of PTEN's escape from the nucleus," adds the study's first author Min Sup Song, PhD, a member of the Pandolfi laboratory. (EurekAlert!)
Bone marrow stem cells may help control inflammatory bowel disease Aug 21, 2008
Autoimmune disease occurs when the immune system loses control over lymphocytes (white blood cells) that attack an individual's own tissues. Treatments for these diseases more than 80 conditions, ranging from type 1 diabetes to rheumatoid arthritis to gastrointestinal disorders like Crohn's disease are primarily directed against symptoms; and even those that target the immune system do not completely suppress the out-of-control response. (EurekAlert!)
'Stem cells can lead to blood farms' Aug 21, 2008
WASHINGTON: Embryonic stem cells can be used to grow vats of red blood cells, which could lead to the creation of "farms" that could provide limitless sources of blood, US researchers reported ... Red blood cells may be an exception to this, because they do not have a nucleus, Lanza and colleagues at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Mayo Clinic reported ... The researchers first coaxed embryonic stem cells into differentiating into blood precursor cells, and then found a way to get... (India Times, India -- Health/Science)
Stem cells may bring bottomless blood bank Aug 20, 2008
Scientists at Advanced Cell Technology Inc., the Worcester stem cell company that is running out of cash, reported yesterday that they have created large numbers of red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells ... Other scientists had shown that red blood cells could be created from embryonic stem cells ... The ACT scientists used four human embryonic stem cell lines to create the red blood cells. (Boston Globe)
Stem cell advance may boost blood supply Aug 20, 2008
Method could one day produce 'universal donor' red blood cells in the lab ... Scientists say they've found an efficient way to make red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells, a possible step toward making transfusion supplies in the laboratory ... Red blood cells are a key component of blood because they carry oxygen throughout the body. (MSNBC -- Health)
100-Mile Ride for Leukemia, Lymphoma Society Is Saturday Aug 20, 2008
Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells and bone marrow. It is characterized by uncontrolled growth of blood cells ... The marrow often is no longer able to produce enough normal red and white blood cells and platelets. (Missourian Publishing, MO)
Researchers produce blood in lab from stem cells Aug 20, 2008
The research team outlined a four-step process for turning embryonic stem cells into red blood cells capable of carrying as much oxygen as normal blood ... In the new study, researchers were able to make as many as 100 billion red blood cells -- enough to fill two or three collection tubes -- from a single plate of embryonic stem cells ... After allowing the stem cells to begin the earliest stages of embryonic development, the researchers prompted some of them to grow into red blood cells by... (Los Angeles Times)
Ultrasound Used To Predict Heart Attack Risk Aug 20, 2008
MPO, or myeloperoxidase,is an enzyme produced by white blood cells. High levels of MPO predict a heart attack, the need for invasive intervention, or. (Science Daily)
Chemical Liberated By Leaky Gut May Allow HIV To Infect The Brain, Scientists Find Aug 20, 2008
15, 2005) Macrophages, long-living white blood cells often considered the scavengers of the immune system, actually may damage a part of the brain where many memories are stored in their attempt to attack. (Sep. (Science Daily)
Stem cells can be used to create limitless blood supplies: report Aug 20, 2008
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Scientists from a US firm claim to have created a large number of red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells, opening up the prospect of having a limitless supply of blood for transfusions ... "Embryonic stem cells represent a new source of cells that can be propagated and expanded indefinitely, providing a potentially inexhaustible source of red blood cells for human therapy. "We can currently generate 10 to 100 billion red blood cells from a single six-well plate of... (Yahoo News -- Top Stories)
Scientists Find Way to Make Blood From Embryonic Stem Cells, Mouse Tissue Aug 20, 2008
The red blood cells can carry and deliver oxygen, and have other vital features of normal cells, Alameda, California-based Advanced Cell said in the study, published today online by the journal ... Lanza's team put the embryonic stem cells on a layer of mouse tissue that provides nourishment, where they grew into blood cells progenitors called hemangioblasts ... The scientists used a cocktail of chemicals to get the progenitor cells to make red blood cells. (Bloomberg -- Canada)
Why the Body Needs Water-Soluble Vi... Aug 19, 2008
Riboflavin (B2): Riboflavin also plays a role in converting food to energy and is needed for the formation of red blood cells ... Pyridoxine (B6): The body needs pyridoxine to form red blood cells, antibodies, and insulin ... Cobalamin (B12): Vitamin B12 helps the body form red blood cells, is needed for normal nervous system functioning, and is required for DNA synthesis. (Suite101.com)
Leishmaniasis Parasites Evade Death By Exploiting Immune Response To Sand Fly Bites Aug 19, 2008
D., found that the neutrophils white blood cells that ingest and destroy bacteria play a surprising role in the development of the disease. Neutrophils were rapidly recruited out of the circulating blood and into the skin of infected mice, where they swarmed around the sand fly bite sites and efficiently engulfed the parasites. (Science Daily)
Immune Response To Human Embryonic Stem Cells In Mice Suggests Human Therapy May Face Challenge Aug 19, 2008
1, 2004) Researchers at Northwestern University have devised a method to induce embryonic stem cells to develop into bone marrow and blood cells ... 13, 2008) A new study demonstrates for the first time that embryonic stem cells can be used to create functional immune system blood cells, a finding which is an important step in the utilization of embryonic. (Science Daily)
Massaging Muscles Facilitates Recovery After Exercise Aug 19, 2008
Similarly, the massaged muscles had fewer damaged muscle fibers and virtually no sign of white blood cells, the presence of which would indicate that the body was working to repair muscle damage, when compared with the rested muscles. The massaged muscles weighed about 8 percent less than the rested muscles, suggesting that the massage helped prevent swelling, Best said. (Science Daily)
'NATURE' ARTICLE: Neutralizing antibodies derived from the B cells of 1918 influenza pandemic survivors Aug 19, 2008
HAI assays of sera or antibodies were performed according to standard protocols using chicken red blood cells ... Chicken red blood cells were added to a final concentration of 0. (USA Today -- Tech)
Johns Hopkins scientists discover what drives the development of a fatal form of malaria Aug 19, 2008
In a study described in the August 14 issue of Cell Host and Microbe, Johns Hopkins researchers reveal that when red blood cells are infected with the malaria parasite, they activate platelets to secrete the PF4 protein, which triggers the immune system to inflame blood vessels and obstruct capillaries in the brain; both are hallmarks of cerebral malaria. In their experiments, the Hopkins team first infected human red blood cells in culture with the malaria parasite and found that this did,... (EurekAlert!)
Toxic Foods for Dogs Aug 18, 2008
Onions and garlic can trigger a form of anemia where the body s red blood cells burst. This results in poor oxygen supply to the vital organs and tissues. (Suite101.com)
By Amplifying Cell Death Signals, Scientists Make Precancerous Cells Self-destruct Aug 18, 2008
1, 2006) The discoverers of the unique mouse line that is resistant to cancer have begun to pin down how the process works and found that white blood cells in these mice overwhelm normal defenses of cancer. . (Science Daily)
Survivors of 1918 flu pandemic protected with a lifetime immunity to virus Aug 18, 2008
Dr. James Crowe and colleagues at Vanderbilt University produced antibodies from these individuals' blood cells and provided these to Dr. Basler's lab where the potent neutralizing activity against 1918 virus was demonstrated. Antibodies were also provided to Dr. Terrence Tumpey at the CDC to test in mice the strength of the antibodies derived from the 1918 survivors. (EurekAlert!)
Tiny technology Aug 17, 2008
Nanotechnology could lead to robots as small as blood cells and has already produced transistors at least a thousand times slimmer than a human hair. This precision engineering involves manipulating molecules to exploit the unusual electrical and optical properties that operate at these small scales. (BBC News -- Technology)
If research is your cup of tea, this will stir the blood in the ... Aug 16, 2008
He found that when blood in a tiny chamber was swirled like a stirred cup of tea within seconds the red blood cells settled at the bottom and in the middle, in the same way as tea leaves in a cup. "They actually funnel like a little tornado down to the bottom in the centre, and so you can separate the red blood cells from the plasma." He said researchers could use the plasma to test for diseases such as leukaemia and Alzheimer's, or even cholesterol levels. (The Age)
Ocean Watch: The zebra fish Aug 16, 2008
Under a microscope, it's possible to see a zebra fish embryo heart pumping out red blood cells. Researchers are also interested in zebra fish because they can regrow sections of their hearts that have been surgically removed. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Major Genetic Cause Of Colon Cancer Found, Linked To Unequal Gene Activity Aug 16, 2008
For this study, de la Chapelle and his colleagues analyzed white blood cells from 138 colon-cancer patients who had gene markers that allowed the researchers to distinguish one TGFBR1 gene from the other. In 29 of these cases, one of the two genes was at least one-third less active than the other, a level of difference that other experiments showed impairs the protein s normal function in cells. (Science Daily)
Arthritis sufferers given fresh hope Aug 16, 2008
Researchers are pioneering a technique that uses the patients own blood cells to suppress the rheumatoid form of the condition ... The technique involves manipulating a patient s white blood cells and injecting them back into arthritic joints to become a vaccine. (Journal Live)
Cancer and immunotherapy Q and A Aug 16, 2008
White blood cells called T cells can in fact control cancer for quite some time ... Another is that it is expensive, costing tens of thousands of dollars to grow a patient's white blood cells in the lab, so it is closer to a personalised medicine than a drug. (Telegraph.co.uk)
Stem cell group awards grants to scientists at 2 universities Aug 16, 2008
Jamieson will use the funding for research into myeloproliferative disorders, or MPDs, which cause people to make too many blood cells because of a mutation in their stem cells. Such a therapy is being tested in clinical trials around the country. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
Protein Complementarity May Offer New Insights Into Autoimmune Diseases Aug 15, 2008
In patients with ANCA vasculitis, the ANCAs attack a type of white blood cells called neutrophils, which in turn attack the blood vessel walls. The resulting blood vessel inflammation (vasculitis) can lead to kidney damage (glomerulonephritis) and other complications. (Science Daily)
How "Gene Doping" Could Create Enhanced Olympians Aug 15, 2008
A synthetic virus called Repoxygen, for example, has been used this way in animal tests to insert a gene for erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that tells the body to make more red blood cells, which carry oxygen to muscles. EPO is important in the treatment of anemia, and it's also a favorite doping agent for cyclists, runners, and cross-country skiers. (National Geographic)
British Scientists Test First Arthritis Vaccine Aug 15, 2008
British scientists plan to start tests on a novel vaccine against rheumatoid arthritis, which could suppress the effects of the joint condition using patients' own blood cells ... The new vaccine involves chemical manipulation of a patient's own white blood cells, so that they develop into so-called tolerogenic dendritic cells, which are thought to suppress immune system activity. (Newsmax)
Methadone May Treat Resistant Leukemia Aug 15, 2008
"Methadone kills sensitive leukemia cells and also breaks treatment resistance, but without any toxic effects on non-leukemic blood cells," said the study's senior author, Claudia Friesen, Ph. D., of the Institute of Legal Medicine at the University Ulm. (Newsmax)
MS drug may work against viral infection: study Aug 14, 2008
FTY720 among other things traps white blood cells -- key soldiers in the immune system's fight against infections -- in the lymph nodes, Altman said. With viral infections, the lymph nodes are where the immune response can get primed and started, Altman said. (Scientific American)
Trapping White Blood Cells Proves Novel Strategy Against Chronic Viral Infections Aug 14, 2008
14, 2008) Seeing disease-fighting white blood cells vanish from the blood usually signals a weakened immune system ... But preventing white blood cells' circulation by trapping them in the lymph nodes can help mice get rid of a chronic viral infection, researchers at Yerkes National Primate Research Center and the Emory Vaccine Center have found ... Altman and his co-workers found that infecting mice with the Armstrong strain sequesters white blood cells in the lymph nodes, while clone 13 does... (Science Daily)
Why Some Infected With HIV Remain Symptom Free Without Antiretroviral Drugs Aug 14, 2008
"Moreover, the strength of the immune response was not dependent on infection by a weakened form of the virus. And if we can harness the means by which these elite white blood cells stop the virus, then we can hopefully 'teach' or reprogram white blood cells in others to also target HIV," he says. Included in the blood analysis was genetic testing which confirmed that both husband and wife were infected with the same pathogenic strain of HIV and ruled out the possibility that there were genetic... (Science Daily)
How Flesh-eating Bacteria Attack Immune System Aug 14, 2008
pyogenes cell envelope protease) produced in large amounts by the most dangerous strains of Strep inactivates an immune system molecule that controls the body's white blood cells ability to fight bacteria. Without signals from this molecule, white blood cells become slower and weaker, and infections can spread out of control ... The UC San Diego investigators examined the interaction of Strep bacteria with neutrophils, specialized white blood cells that play a front-line role in humans' immune... (Science Daily)
Malaria drug potency is restored Aug 14, 2008
Chloroquine - which is far cheaper than more modern malaria drugs - works by blocking the way the parasite breaks down human haemoglobin contained in red blood cells ... Professor Ron Behrens, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said primaquine was not suitable for all patients, as it could trigger the break down of red blood cells in people with an enzyme deficiency. (Yahoo News -- Malaria)
Pack these books in the beach bag to help ease the return to school Aug 14, 2008
Colorful photos of red blood cells, skydivers, rubber ducks and popcorn kernels cover length, volume, area and other measures. Hamsters, Shells, and Spelling Bees: School Poems (HarperCollins, $16. (Racine Journal Times, WI)
Protein key to control, growth of blood cells Aug 14, 2008
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) develop into all types of blood cells: red blood cells, platelets and immune cells. HSCs, like other stem cells, have the ability to self-renew: each can give rise to more mature, developed cells with more specific functions, as well as a new stem cell. (EurekAlert!)
White blood cell uses DNA 'catapult' to fight infection Aug 14, 2008
Eosiniphils, which comprise only 1 to 3 percent of human white blood cells, are known to be useful in the body's defense mechanisms against parasites ... Unlike other white blood cells, which are distributed throughout the body, eosinophils are found only in selected areas, including the digestive tract. (EurekAlert!)
Terry Rindfleisch: Cancer Society’s Murphy knows disease well Aug 13, 2008
At 21/2 years of age, Murphy was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells the cells that normally fight infections. She received chemo-therapy and radiation off and on for two years at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals in Madison. (La Crosse Tribune, WI)