calcium

Waste Removal in Worms Reveals a New Mechanism to Regulate Calcium Signaling
01/04/2013 - 11:50

Calcium is so much more than the mineral that makes our bones and teeth strong: It is a ubiquitous signaling molecule that provides crucial information inside of and between cells. Calcium is used to help our hearts beat regularly, our guts to function appropriately and even for fertilization to occur. It is also needed to help muscles and blood vessels contract, to secrete hormones and enzymes and to send messages throughout the nervous system.

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Researchers studies the mechanics of stronger bones
09/19/2012 - 14:47

As human bones age, they undergo geometric changes and also lose minerals such as calcium that give them density and strength.  As a result, broken bones are one of the most common injuries in older people, and nearly 300,000 Americans are hospitalized each year for hip fractures alone. With fractures often come permanent losses in mobility.

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Low-Dose Vitamin D May Not Prevent Fractures in Healthy Women – What about Higher Doses?
06/15/2012 - 15:17

Vitamin D and calcium are dietary requirements, but it’s unclear how much is best for us. New draft findings by the United States Preventive Services Task Force conclude that for healthy, postmenopausal women, daily supplementation with low levels of vitamin D  — up to 400 international units — combined with 1,000 milligrams of calcium, does not reduce fracture risk.

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Snapshots of active photosynthesis
06/04/2012 - 09:04

Working with researchers in the US and Germany, Johannes Messinger at Umeå University is opening new avenues to understand photosynthesis and create artificial photosynthesis. Using x-ray analysis, they have managed to see the structure of molecules under conditions where photosynthesis can occur, and they have also found that calcium plays a critical role in decomposing water.

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Woodchucks and sudden cardiac death
02/23/2012 - 13:35

How much calcium could a hibernating woodchuck’s heart cells sequester, if a hibernating woodchuck’s heart cells could sequester calcium? More than enough, it turns out, to protect the animals from cardiac arrhythmias – abnormal heart rhythms such as ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation that can lead to sudden cardiac death – according to a new study of the hibernating animals that may provide insight into arrhythmia therapies.

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Celiac disease is linked to osteoporosis
02/22/2012 - 22:07

People with celiac disease are at risk for osteoporosis, according to physicians at Loyola University Health System (LUHS). A 2009 New England Journal of Medicine study supports this correlation. Researchers believe that people with celiac disease may develop osteoporosis because their body poorly absorbs calcium and vitamin D, which are necessary for bone health.

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