Describing Myxococcus xanthus aggregation using Ostwald ripening equations for thin liquid films.

When starved, a swarm of millions of Myxococcus xanthus cells coordinate their movement from outward swarming to inward coalescence. The cells then execute a synchronous program of multicellular development, arranging themselves into dome shaped aggregates. Over the course of development, about half of the initial aggregates disappear, while others persist and mature into fruiting bodies.

Antisense oligonucleotide-mediated correction of transcriptional dysregulation is correlated with behavioral benefits in the YAC128 mouse model of Huntington's disease.

Background: Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurological disorder caused by mutations in the huntingtin (HTT) gene, the product of which leads to selective and progressive neuronal cell death in the striatum and cortex. Transcriptional dysregulation has emerged as a core pathologic feature in the CNS of human and animal models of HD. It is still unclear whether perturbations in gene expression are a consequence of the disease or importantly, contribute to the pathogenesis of HD.

Quantifying aggregation dynamics during Myxococcus xanthus development.

Under starvation conditions, a swarm of Myxococcus xanthus cells will undergo development, a multicellular process culminating in the formation of many aggregates called fruiting bodies, each of which contains up to 100,000 spores. The mechanics of symmetry breaking and the self-organization of cells into fruiting bodies is an active area of research. Here we use microcinematography and automated image processing to quantify several transient features of developmental dynamics.

The changing scene in Hashimoto's disease: a review.

The review briefly describes the evolution of hypotheses about cronic thyroiditis, the escape of colloid hypothesis, basement membrane destruction, the auto-immune theory and the role of disregulatory genes.