Related Concept Videos
01:04Travelling Waves
A wave is a disturbance that propagates from its source, repeating itself periodically, and is typically associated with simple harmonic motion. Mechanical waves are governed by Newton's laws and require a medium to travel. A medium is a substance in which a mechanical wave propagates, and the medium produces an elastic restoring force when it is deformed.
Water waves, sound waves, and seismic waves are some examples of mechanical waves. For water waves, the wave propagation medium is water;...
Water waves, sound waves, and seismic waves are some examples of mechanical waves. For water waves, the wave propagation medium is water;...
02:12Short-distance Transport of Resources
Short-distance transport refers to transport that occurs over a distance of just 2-3 cells, crossing the plasma membrane in the process. Small uncharged molecules, such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water, can diffuse across the plasma membrane on their own. In contrast, ions and larger molecules require the assistance of transport proteins due to their charge or size. Transport across membranes also occurs within individual cells, playing a variety of essential roles for the plant as a whole.
01:27ABC Transporters: Importer
ATP-binding cassette or ABC transporters are a class of ATP-driven pumps that hydrolyze ATP to move solutes across the membrane. They can be grouped into importers and exporters. While exporters are present in all domains of life, importers exist only in bacteria and some plants.
In bacteria, based on the number of transmembrane helices and the chemical nature of their substrates, the ABC importers can be divided into three types:
In bacteria, based on the number of transmembrane helices and the chemical nature of their substrates, the ABC importers can be divided into three types:
01:31ABC Transporters: Exporter
ATP-binding cassette or ABC transporter is the largest superfamily of integral membrane proteins. The transporters have transmembrane-binding domains (TMDs) and nucleotide-binding domains (NBDs). The TMDs are specific to their substrates, whereas the NBDs are similar to engines that complete ATP hydrolysis to complete the substrate transport. They can be full transporters consisting of two TMDs and NBDs, half transporters with one TMD and NBD, while some encoded with a single TMD or NBD are...
01:21Carrier Transport
The generation of electrical current in semiconductors is fundamentally driven by two mechanisms: drift and diffusion. These processes are essential for the functionality and performance of semiconductor-based devices.
Drift Current:
The drift of charge carriers is started by an external electric field (E). Charged particles, such as electrons and holes, experience an acceleration between collisions with lattice atoms. For electrons, this results in a drift velocity (vd) given by:
Drift Current:
The drift of charge carriers is started by an external electric field (E). Charged particles, such as electrons and holes, experience an acceleration between collisions with lattice atoms. For electrons, this results in a drift velocity (vd) given by:
02:09Bystander Effect
The discussion of bullying highlights the problem of witnesses not intervening to help a victim. This is a common occurrence, as the following well-publicized event demonstrates. In 1964, in Queens, New York, a 19-year-old woman named Kitty Genovese was attacked by a person with a knife near the back entrance to her apartment building and again in the hallway inside her apartment building. When the attack occurred, she screamed for help numerous times and eventually died from her stab wounds.
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Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026
06:58
Behavioral Tasks for Examining Identity Recognition In Mice
Published on: February 7, 2025
Time to recognize our fellow travellers.
Travis B Murdoch1, Allan S Detsky
1Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Journal of General Internal Medicine
|May 17, 2012
Summary
Human health depends on the microbiome, the collection of microbes in our bodies. Understanding this "superorganism" can advance personalized medicine and therapeutics for better health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Human physiology
- Personalized medicine
Background:
- Human health is intricately linked to the vast community of microorganisms residing within the body, known as the microbiome.
- The superorganism concept highlights the crucial role of shared metabolic and signaling pathways between hosts and their commensal microflora for overall well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the implications of the superorganism paradigm for personalized medicine and therapeutic strategies.
- To discuss the potential of microbiome analysis in identifying disease-associated microbial profiles.
- To examine the future of probiotics and their role in modulating the superorganism for health benefits.
Main Methods:
- Commentary and synthesis of current research on the human microbiome and superorganism concept.
Main Results:
- Microbiome research offers potential for identifying disease biomarkers and developing novel diagnostics.
- Personalized microbiome analysis services are emerging, similar to genomics.
- Probiotics hold therapeutic promise but require enhanced manufacturing standards and rigorous clinical validation.
Conclusions:
- The superorganism paradigm, encompassing the human host and its microbiome, offers a new framework for understanding health and disease.
- Healthcare should integrate the superorganism concept, moving beyond a sole focus on human physiology.
- Future therapeutic strategies, including probiotics, must be evidence-based and rigorously tested within the superorganism context.