A world of many (cell) cultures

Cell culture is the growth and maintenance of cells outside of their normal environment. Growing tissues and cells outside of the body dates back to the 19th century. In 1885, Wilhelm Roux demonstrated the principle of cell culture when he maintained tissues of an embryonic chicken in warm saline solution for several days. In the 

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10 unique reagents that helped advance research in 2017

At Kerafast, our mission is to facilitate access to unique reagents developed by academic researchers. Together with our providing investigators, we get one-of-a-kind bioreagents into the hands of scientists worldwide who can use the materials to accelerate their own research. As we begin the new year, we took the opportunity to review how reagents in 

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How macrophages promote melanoma metastasis

Researchers have visualized macrophages transferring cytoplasm to melanoma tumor cells, contact which in turn alters tumor cell migration and stimulates cancer metastasis. The study, which cites our MC-38 adenocarcinoma cell line, was recently published in the journal Developmental Cell. Macrophages: good or bad guys? Macrophages are white blood cells that digest pathogens and cellular debris. 

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Facilitating horizontal gene transfer between predator and prey bacteria

The development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a global health issue that limits the prevention and treatment of infections. Patients infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria have worse clinical outcomes with a higher risk of death and consume more healthcare resources than patients infected with non-resistant strains of the same bacteria. Given the significant clinical and 

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An overview of HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) came into the colloquial vocabulary in the 1980s when a growing number of homosexual men and intravenous drug users presented with unusual symptoms synonymous with an impaired immune system. These groups demonstrated clinical signs of a rare opportunistic infection, Pneumocystis crinii pneumonia, that had previously only been seen in patients who 

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Alteration in phospholipid pathways may be a key treatment of parasitic infection

In humans, we utilize an essential nutrient, choline, converting it to phosphocholine and phosphatidylcholine. Phosphatidylcholines (PCs) are important components of biological membranes of both plants and animals. Mechanisms differ in terms of how the PCs are generated. The Kennedy pathway is used in mammals, fungi and some bacteria, while in yeast as well as mammals 

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All domains of life share a cell division strategy

Scientists from Harvard University have shown that the three domains of life – archaea, bacteria and eukarya – all use the same mechanism to ensure cells within a population maintain a uniform size. The research, recently published in Nature Microbiology, provides new insight into the evolution of cell cycle control. Previously, the researchers had demonstrated 

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