Shooting Blanks: Ca2+-free Signaling

Intracellular Ca2+ signaling

Functional intracellular Ca(2+) signaling is essential for the upregulation of the canonical mTOR-controlled autophagy pathway triggered by rapamycin or by nutrient deprivation. Moreover, modifications in the Ca(2+)-signaling machinery coincide with autophagy stimulation. This results in enhanced intracellular Ca(2+) signaling essential for driving the autophagy process. Yet, the mechanisms ups...

The Social Facilitation Effect in Basketball: Shooting Free Throws

Filling in the blanks.

NONE of us could imagine delivering an inhalational anesthetic in the absence of oxygen. It wasn’t always that way. In this issue of ANESTHESIOLOGY, George S. Bause, M.D., presents the unlikely history behind the recognition that specialized equipment is necessary to deliver both oxygen and anesthetics in a controlled manner. This article and its attendant cover image provide a platform for int...

Quantized patterning using nanoimprinted blanks.

Quantum lithography (QL) is a revolutionary approach, increasing the throughput and lowering the cost of scanning electron beam lithography (EBL). But it has not been pursued since its inception 17 years ago, due to the lack of a viable method for making the blanks needed. Here we propose and demonstrate a new general viable approach to QL blank fabrication, that is based on (a) nanoimprinting ...

TRP channels and Ca2+ signaling.

There is a rapidly growing interest in the family of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels because TRP channels are not only important for many sensory systems, but they are crucial components of the function of neurons, epithelial, blood and smooth muscle cells. These facts make TRP channels important targets for treatment of diseases arising from the malfunction of these channels in the...