programmed cell death, which can be classified into apoptosis, autophagy, and oncosis, based on the cellular signalling pathways involved in the process, plays a critical role in cellular house-keeping. aberrant cell death regulation leads to body malformations, as well as to numerous diseases. here, we describe the effects of cytototoxins isolated from marine organisms on the various programme...

The detection of harmful stimuli - nociception - has been suggested to rely on evolutionarily conserved neuronal mechanisms. A recent study has shown how the activity of nociceptive neurons in Drosophila larvae triggers a defense mechanism against a parasitoid wasp.

Bacteria, the most abundant organisms on the planet, are outnumbered by a factor of 10 to 1 by phages that infect them. Faced with the rapid evolution and turnover of phage particles, bacteria have evolved various mechanisms to evade phage infection and killing, leading to an evolutionary arms race. The extensive co-evolution of both phage and host has resulted in considerable diversity on the ...

A growing body of research suggests that personality characteristics relate to physical health; however, this relation ship has primarily been tested in cross-sectional studies that have not followed the participants into old age. The present study utilizes data from a 70-year longitudinal study to prospectively examine the relationship between the adaptive defense mechanisms in midlife and obj...

Biological effects of low-level exposures (BELLE) may be very important in characterizing the potential health risks of environmental pollutants. Before some features of BELLE, such as effects that may be modulated by adaptive or defense mechanisms, can be taken into greater consideration in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency risk assessments, however adequate information on a toxicant's mode...

One of the things I’ve had to adjust to in the past 25 years is the often transitory relationship with people in my work place. At the end of every year a group of residents whom I’ve worked with for 4 years and a group of fellows whom I’ve worked with for 1–2 years leave to begin their professional careers. Nurses, technicians, and colleagues from other services also oscillate to and from my w...

Aim: Research has extensively examined the relationship between defense mechanisms (DM) and personality traits. However, no study to date has explored if specific defenses (alone or in combination) are able to predict dysfunctional variants of personality domains, as conceived in the alternative DSM-5 model for personality disorders. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between DMs ...

In response to fungivore grazing fungi are assumed to have evolved secondary metabolite-based defense mechanisms that harm and repel grazers, and hence provide a benefit to the metabolite producer. However, since research into the ecological meaning of highly diverse fungal secondary metabolites is still in its infancy, many central questions still remain. Which components of the enormous metab...

OBJECTIVES The aim of the research was to explore the susceptibility to disturbances in one's sense of body ownership induced in patients with schizophrenia. The research questions were: 1) Is Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI) significantly more intense in a group of patients with schizophrenia than in a group of patients without a diagnosed mental illness? 2) Is there a correlation between disturbanc...

Quebec City, Canada (January 15, 2013) — A team of researchers from Université Laval, CHU de Québec, and pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has discovered a way to stimulate the brain's natural defense mechanisms in people with Alzheimer's disease. This major breakthrough, details of which are presented today in an early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Scienc...