Beyond Words Community
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.


Beyond Books, Beyond Worlds, Beyond Your Imagination.
 
HomePortalLatest imagesSearchRegisterLog in

 

 Fluorescence Found to Aid Healing

Go down 
2 posters
AuthorMessage
REBEL

REBEL


Posts : 570
Join date : 2009-10-07
Age : 27
Location : Australia

Fluorescence Found to Aid Healing Empty
PostSubject: Fluorescence Found to Aid Healing   Fluorescence Found to Aid Healing Icon_minitimeThu Nov 05, 2009 6:22 pm

Injured corals develop colorful glowing "scabs" to help themselves heal, a new study has found
Fluorescence Found to Aid Healing 091104-glowing-corals-antioxidants-picture_big


When a coral is broken or wounded, it releases highly reactive atoms of oxygen known as free radicals to close up the gashes.

But these powerful molecules can also inadvertently kill off some of the coral's healthy cells. Hydrogen peroxide, for instance, is a common free radical in corals, and it can damage every part of the cell, from DNA to proteins.

Hurt corals have also been known to take on brightly colored glows, noted study leader and coral immunologist Caroline Palmer. Wounds on Acropora millepora corals appear blue, for example, while injured tissues on Porites species—like the raised and swollen patches seen above—are an "intense" bubble-gum pink.

To figure out why damaged corals glow, Palmer and colleagues took small fragments from seven species of healthy wild Caribbean corals as well as samples of injured and healthy tissue from coral colonies on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

The researchers then studied the intensity of the glow coming from healthy and wounded corals. What they found is that corals with a brighter glow are best able to keep free radicals from damaging healthy cells.

The glow is a result of so-called fluorescent proteins, which in corals act as antioxidants to keep free radicals at bay, Palmer's team says.

The study is the first to show that corals use fluorescence to boost their immunity, added Palmer, of Australia's James Cook University and the U.K.'s New Castle University.

As invertebrates—a group of less complex creatures, including worms and snails—corals were thought to have very simple immune systems, said Palmer, whose study appeared October 6 in the journal PLoS One.

"However," she said in an email, "it's becoming evident that they have a wide range of defensive responses."

Photograph by Caroline V. Palmer
Back to top Go down
http://zhangie.blogspot.com
Orca

Orca


Posts : 146
Join date : 2009-10-05

Fluorescence Found to Aid Healing Empty
PostSubject: Re: Fluorescence Found to Aid Healing   Fluorescence Found to Aid Healing Icon_minitimeFri Nov 06, 2009 4:32 pm

This seems like the Predator's blood. The Predators' blood glows green like these corals do.. Maybe they are distant relatives?
Back to top Go down
 
Fluorescence Found to Aid Healing
Back to top 
Page 1 of 1
 Similar topics
-
» Galileo's fingers, tooth found
» Gremlins Thought Extinct, Found After 85 Years
» 3 new ancient crocodile species fossils found
» Starfish with record eight legs is found off British coast
» Toxic chemicals found in a third of children's toys: study

Permissions in this forum:You cannot reply to topics in this forum
Beyond Words Community :: Worlds on Canvas :: NewsReal :: Mother Nature's News-
Jump to: