Editor’s Selections: Atomic force microscopy, and hijacking dendritic cells
May 18th, 2012 Editor's Selections 3 Comments
Vincent Racaniello selects several notable posts each week from molecular and cellular biology and virology. He unravels viruses at virology blog.
<img title=”Vincent Racaniello” src=”http://researchblogging.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/smallvincent.jpg” alt=”Vincent Racaniello” width=”47″ height=”47″ />Vincent Racaniello selects several notable posts each week from molecular and cellular biology and virology. He writes about viruses at <a href=”http://www.virology.ws” target=”_blank”>virology blog</a>.
- Light microscopes do not provide sufficient resolution to explore the details of cells. In atomic force microscopy a very fine tip (atoms in diameter) attached to a cantilever is used to “feel” the surface of a sample.
- Pathogenic microbes often produce surface structures that modulate the action of complement. Lyme disease Borrelia strains produce such proteins, but they also get help from a protein found in the saliva of ticks.
- When HIV-1 encounters a dendritic cell, it is taken up into invaginations of the plasma membrane called exosomes. When the dendritic cell travels to the lymph node, it unwittingly delivers the virus to its preferred target, the T cell.
I’ll be back next Friday with more selections.
