Q1. A red blood cell must squeeze through narrow blood capillaries without rupturing its membrane. The strength and flexibility of its plasma membrane depends on the dense cytoskeletal network that consists mainly of actin and spectrin molecules. A blood sample was analyzed to measure the intracellular actin concentration. Out of […]

PC12 cells produce dopamine and so they may be useful in treating Parkinson’s disease (when dopamine is missing). One approach would be to encapsulate PC12 cells inside a spherical capsule (400um in outer diameter (OD); 25 um wall thickness) and then implant these capsules inside the brain. The capsules serve […]

Early in development, most human cells turn off expression of an essential component of telomerase, the enzyme responsible for addition of telomere repeat sequences (5′ TTAGGG 3′) to the ends of chromosomes. Thus, as our cells proliferate, their telomeres get shorter and shorter, but are normally lost over the course […]

Natural selection is the key mechanism of evolution and accounts for the commonality and diversity in nature. Can you give a specific example of a successful species and unsuccessful species adapting and not adapting respectively to their environments and why their adaptations or lack of made it so? How can […]