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  • Summer 2011 - Issue Number 83
  • Summer 2011 - Issue Number 83
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Western blotting. Part III
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Surviving life in the womb and the implications for vascular health in adulthood

The early environment of the fetus can shape its risk for cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Females, by and large, fare better than males following these early life insults. However, changes in the function of the uterine vessels may predispose to pregnancy complications and perpetuation of cardiovascular disease risk in the next generation.
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A novel feature of epithelial acetylcholine in intestinal luminal sensing

Textbooks describe acetylcholine (ACh) as a neurotransmitter that is released from cholinergic motor nerves in response to luminal stimuli to control gut motility and ion transport. In a new approach we demonstrated that ACh is synthesised in colonic epithelial cells and released on the basolateral side by luminal chemo-stimulation, which causes chloride secretion.
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CO2 emissions of locomotion: innovative automobiles do better than humans
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The way we learn to walk

Learning to walk is a milestone in children’s motor skill development. Newly published research suggests that emergence of oscillatory drive in the corticospinal pathway plays an important role in developing and shaping this motor skill.

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Endurance training–overtraining: a fine-tuned balance that depends on Ca2+

The razor-thin margin between beneficial effects of endurance training and the deleterious effects of overtraining is a central dilemma in endurance sports. We show here that modest changes in muscle cell Ca2+ homeostasis can cause both these effects.
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A key role of orexin (hypocretin) neurons in the fight-or-flight response

Stress increases cardiac function, ventilation and body temperature. These changes increase metabolic rate, oxygen supply and conduction velocity of nerve impulses and prepare the body for a fight-or-flight response. A part of the hypothalamus, called the ‘defense area’, has long been known to play a key role but the precise mechanisms are largely unknown. Our recent research suggests that orexin (hypocretin) neurons act as a master switch of the fight-or-flight response.
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Do peripheral chemoreceptors in the carotid body serve as sites of glucose sensing?

The peripheral chemoreceptors in the carotid body are well known for their role in oxygen sensing and control of respiration. Recently, cellular evidence has shown that these cells are also responsive to glucose. Our recent work is supportive of carotid body involvement in glucose sensing in humans.

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