The eccentric Complex II of the mitochondrial respiratory chain

Complex II, otherwise termed Succinate-coenzyme Q reductase is an exotic member of the electron transport chain at least in 3 ways:

Do we lose neurons or neuronal stem cells every time we blow our nose?

I guess I will submit this question to the Ask the Experts section of Scientific American. It was a witty remark by a senior scientist at a presentation on neural stem cells and aging last week, here at Tulane. I laughed so much that I had to blow my nose disproving that good jokes keep…

Who is afraid of ribosomal RNA?

This is from an Affymetrix technical note on The Human Exon 1.0 ST Array: “On average, the 18S and 28S ribosomal RNAs account for approximately 90 percent of any eukaryotic total RNA sample whereas the messenger RNA population makes up less than 2 percent in a given sample.” (I just wanted you to know.)

Organ donation after death: a generous gift or an obligation?

What do you think?

First differentiated cell types in mammals are…

…blood cells, “generated in early-stage embryos, for instance in mice in the yolk sac at embryonic day (E) 7.0.-7.5, just 2 or 3 days after the undifferentiated conceptus implants in the uterus.” Source: Ueno-Weissman: Blood lines from embryo to adult Nature 446, 996-997 (26 April 2007)

ATP production and oxygen consumption distribution of the human body?

I am looking for an overall ATP production, or ATP/ADP ratio map of the – resting – human body (organ system, organ, tissue level) and the detailed oxygen consumption distribution of the same entity, would you help me, please?

Maximum amount of stem cells transplanted into humans?

Do you know how much were the maximum amount of stem or progenitor cells, ever been successfully transplanted into mammals and specially into a human being in toto or in terms of grafted cells/total cells ratio ?

One bit of science in one sentence

I would like to introduce the one sentence type of blog posts, in which I talk about a bit of scientific knowledge or put up a scientific question, be it theoretical or practical, know-what or know-how.