Phagocytosis: Our Current Understanding of a Universal Biological Process

Universal Central Extension of Current Superalgebras

Representation as well as central extension are two of the most important concepts in the theory of Lie (super)algebras. Apart from the interest of mathematicians, the attention of physicist are also drawn to these two subjects because of the significant amount of their applications in Physics. In fact for physicists, the study of projective representations of Lie (super)algebras  are very impo...

Using biological networks to improve our understanding of infectious diseases

Infectious diseases are the leading cause of death, particularly in developing countries. Although many drugs are available for treating the most common infectious diseases, in many cases the mechanism of action of these drugs or even their targets in the pathogen remain unknown. In addition, the key factors or processes in pathogens that facilitate infection and disease progression are often n...

Bengt Westermark and our current understanding of tumor pathogenesis

The field of cancer research has advanced so far over the past four decades—the precise time-span of Bengt Westermark’s career—that it would be unrecognizable to those who last visited it in 1972. At that time, we knew that cancer cells grew uncontrollably and that a number of carcinogens were likely to be genotoxic mutagens, i.e. that among their other functions they worked to induce cancer th...

Lower-extremity peripheral nerve blockade: essentials of our current understanding.

Catatonia: Our current understanding of its diagnosis, treatment and pathophysiology

Catatonia is a psychomotor syndrome that has been reported to occur in more than 10% of patients with acute psychiatric illnesses. Two subtypes of the syndrome have been identified. Catatonia of the retarded type is characterized by immobility, mutism, staring, rigidity, and a host of other clinical signs. Excited catatonia is a less common presentation in which patients develop prolonged perio...