Showing posts with label type. Show all posts
Showing posts with label type. Show all posts

Friday, February 19, 2010

T-cell

LinkGrand.com

a type of white blood cell (LYMPHOCYTE) that forms in the bone marrow and moves to the thymus gland, situated in the thorax. There are a whole variety of T-cells involved in recognizing particular foreign bodies (ANTIGENS), and they are important in fighting viral infections and destroying bacteria that have penetrated the cells of the body.

Taken from Dictionary of Science

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T cells or T lymphocytes belong to a group of white blood cells known as lymphocytes, and play a central role in cell-mediated immunity. They can be distinguished from other lymphocyte types, such as B cells and natural killer cells by the presence of a special receptor on their cell surface called T cell receptors (TCR). The abbreviation T, in T cell, stands for thymus, since this is the principal organ responsible for the T cell's maturation. Several different subsets of T cells have been discovered, each with a distinct function.

Taken from Wikipedia



Thursday, January 7, 2010

Macrophage


a special type of cell that forms part of the IMMUNE SYSTEM of vertebrates. Macrophages are derived from MONOCYTES in the blood system and can move to infected or inflamed areas of the body using PSEUDOPODIA. In these areas, they surround, engulf and degrade broken cells and other debris, including microbes, by means of the process called PHAGOCYTOSIS.

Taken from Dictionary of Science

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Dark Nebulae


clouds of thick gas and dust common throughout the MILKY WAY and other GALAXIES.

Taken from Dictionary of Science

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A dark nebula is a type of interstellar cloud that is so dense that it obscures the light from the background emission or reflection nebula (e.g., the Horsehead Nebula) or that it blocks out background stars (e.g., the Coalsack Nebula). The extinction of the light is caused by interstellar dust grains located in the coldest, densest parts of larger molecular clouds. Clusters and large complexes of dark nebulae are associated with Giant Molecular Clouds. Isolated small dark nebulae are called Bok globules. Like other interstellar dust/material, things it obscures are only visible using radio waves in radio astronomy.


Dark clouds appear so because of submicrometre-sized dust particles, coated with frozen carbon monoxide and nitrogen, which effectively block the passage of light at visible wavelengths. Also present are molecular hydrogen, atomic helium, C18O, CS, NH3 (ammonia), H2CO (formaldehyde), c-C3H2 (cyclopropenylidene) and a molecular ion N2H+ (diazenylium), all of which are relatively transparent. These clouds are the spawning grounds of stars and planets, and understanding their development is essential to understanding star formation.


The form of such dark clouds is very irregular: they have no clearly defined outer boundaries and sometimes take on convoluted serpentine shapes. The largest dark nebulae are visible to the naked eye, appearing as dark patches against the brighter background of the Milky Way.


In the inner regions of dark nebulae important events take place, such as the formation of stars and masers.


Taken from Wikipedia