The Molecular and Cell Biology Carnival #2

Welcome to the second Carnival of Molecular and Cell Biology!

Medical research

The existence of a dedicated molecular and cell biology carnival reflects the pace at which this field is discovering exciting and useful knowledge. Molecular genetics and gene expression, for example, is crucial to our understanding of a collection of what are essentially genetic diseases -- cancers. Alex Palazzo at The Daily Transcript discusses this in the context of recent findings on the role of miRNAs in cancers in "Let7 miRNAs, Lin-28, Cancer and Stem Cells."

Meanwhile, over at one of my favourite new blogroll additions, Blogging for Bacteriophages, Tim Sampson reviews recent research on the workings of tuberculosis in "A Fatty Acid Synthetase is Necessary for Active TB Infection". With implications for drug development, we see again how reliant modern medicine is on the field.

While drug resistant TB is beginning to make this disease an issue in developed countries again, it mostly remains one of those neglected diseases of the developing world. Another disease that has been somewhat neglected, though for different reasons, but which is benefiting from research in cell biology, is depression. BrainbloggerShaheen Lakhan presents "Inflammatory Markers Altered in Depression and Suicide."

Emphasising the role of genetic damage in cancers again, iayork, author of the wonderful Mystery Rays from Outer Space, points to endogenous retrovirus as a target for immunotherapy , in "HERVs: zombie target practice for immunity."

There's more on cancer immunotherapy in "Immune cells unexpectedly fight cancer." This one wasn't submitted by the author, but I wanted to include it as it comes from the marvelous new blog of Cancer Research UK, which you should all be reading!

Basic research

While molecular and cell biology is crucial to medical research, I very much doubt that's what keeps you reading. You're here because, like all good science, it's exciting. One can never fail to be entertained, for example, by research looking at the origin and evolution of life. In "What's a cell-adhesion protein like you doing in a unicellular organism like me?", Bruce Olsen reviews the origin of multicellularity, and the communication and cooperation of our single-celled ancestors.

Indeed, my own offering goes back to the origins of the eukaryotic cells, and reviews a recent publication looking at horizontal gene transfer in the ancestors of chloroplasts: "Light years upstream, dipping in the River out of Eden."

News and views

sparc presents Ancient DNA, at molecular B(io)LOG(y).

Short reports

96well, on the source of luminescence in fireflies, tells us that "In the beginning was the fat."

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Thus concludes the Molecular and Cell Biology Carnival. We've explored just a tiny fraction of the complexity of life and disease, but demonstrated the importance of the molecular and cell approaches to these topics. With almost all of our items discussing recently published research, I hope we have also demonstrated the ability -- value, even -- of blogs for digesting and communicating complicated new ideas.

Keep an eye on the MCB Carnival website for the schedule, or sign up as a host by emailing our founder, The Skeptical Chemist.