A missing piece of the puzzle of how neurons and muscle cells establish lifelong communication has been found by researchers who suspect this piece may be mutated and/or attacked in muscular dystrophy.

Tumor growth has commonly been viewed as a result of mutations in a given cell that will therefore proliferate uncontrollably. However, a study conducted at the University of Helsinki, Finland, has demonstrated that in certain type of gastrointestinal polyps, the cause of tumor development are mutations in the smooth muscle cells, previously regarded as “innocent bystanders”.

What do marathoners and heart failure patients have in common? More than you think according to new findings by physiologists at Columbia University Medical Center.

Neurotransmitters have consequences. They initiate events that are critical to a healthy life, giving us the ability to move, to talk, to breathe, to think. But that’s if the neurotransmitters are getting it right and sending proper signals downstream to muscle cells, neurons or other cells.

During muscle regeneration, which is a natural response to injury and disease, environmental cues cause adult muscle stem cells (satellite cells) to shift from dormancy to actively building new muscle tissue.

Scientists report that adding long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids – typically found in fish oil – to baby formula may help infants better regulate their blood sugar and make more proteins in their muscle cells. These results may help make better decisions when dealing with pre-term birth, low-birth weight, and feeding of infants in intensive care.

Changes in the size, shape, and function of the heart (cardiac remodeling) contribute to the onset and progression of heart failure.