Lipid
hideLipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The main biological functions of lipids include energy storage, as structural components of cell membranes, and as important signaling molecules.
Lipids may be broadly defined as hydrophobic or amphiphilic small molecules; the amphiphilic nature of some lipids allows them to form structures such as vesicles, liposomes, or membranes in an aqueous environment. Biological lipids originate entirely or in part from two distinct types of biochemical subunits or "building blocks": ketoacyl and isoprene groups. Using this approach, lipids may be divided into eight categories: fatty acyls, glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, saccharolipids and polyketides (derived from condensation of ketoacyl subunits); and sterol lipids and prenol lipids (derived from condensation of isoprene subunits).
Although the term lipid is sometimes used as a synonym for fats, fats are a subgroup of lipids called triglycerides. Lipids also encompass molecules such as fatty acids and their derivatives (including tri-, di-, and monoglycerides and phospholipids), as well as other sterol-containing metabolites such as cholesterol. Although humans and other mammals use various biosynthetic pathways to both break down and synthesize lipids, some essential lipids cannot be made this way and must be obtained from the diet.
For more information about Lipid, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with lipid
Control of blood clotting by platelets described; provides medical promise
Nov 24, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Cell fragments called platelets are essential to promote blood clotting. Virginia Tech faculty members and students have discovered novel molecular interactions at the surface of platelets that control blood clotting.
Factors from common human bacteria may trigger multiple sclerosis
Nov 24, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
0
Current research suggests that a common oral bacterium may exacerbate autoimmune disease. The related report by Nichols et al, "Unique Lipids from a Common Human Bacterium Represent a New Class of TLR2 Ligands Capable of ...
Abnormal cholesterol levels may raise risk of heart failure
Nov 23, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Even if you never have a heart attack, abnormal blood cholesterol levels may significantly raise your risk of heart failure, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart As ...
Novel connector uses magnets for leak-free microfluidic devices
Nov 18, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
0
Like other users of microfluidic systems, National Institute of Standards and Technology researcher Javier Atencia was faced with an annoying engineering problem: how to simply, reliably and most of all, tightly, ...
Antifibrotic effects of green tea
Nov 18, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
Several studies have shown that lipid peroxidation stimulates collagen production in fibroblasts and hepatic stellate cells (HSC), and plays an important role in the development of liver fibrosis. Hepatoprotective effects ...
Research reveals lipids' unexpected role in triggering death of brain cells
Nov 12, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
The lipid that accumulates in brain cells of individuals with an inherited enzyme disorder also drives the cell death that is a hallmark of the disease, according to new research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital ...
High fat diet increases inflammation in the mouse colon
Nov 12, 2009 |
3 / 5 (1) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- In mice fed a diet high in fat and low in fiber, vitamin D and calcium -- the so-called Western diet -- expression of a series of genes collectively associated with immune and inflammatory responses was altered. ...
A motley collection of boneworms (w/ Video)
Nov 10, 2009 |
5 / 5 (6) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- It sounds like a classic horror story -- eyeless, mouthless worms lurk in the dark, settling onto dead animals and sending out green "roots" to devour their bones. In fact, such worms do exist ...
Newly Discovered Fat Molecule: An Undersea Killer with an Upside
Nov 05, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A chemical culprit responsible for the rapid, mysterious death of phytoplankton in the North Atlantic Ocean has been found by collaborating scientists at Rutgers University and the Woods Hole ...
Researchers have immune cells running in circles
Nov 02, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine researchers have identified the important role a protein plays in the body's first line of defense in directing immune cells called neutrophils toward ...
HIV tamed by designer 'leash'
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Oct 29, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Researchers have shown how an antiviral protein produced by the immune system, dubbed tetherin, tames HIV and other viruses by literally putting them on a leash, to prevent their escape from infected cells. The insights reported ...
Statins show dramatic drug and cell dependent effects in the brain
Oct 28, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Besides their tremendous value in treating high cholesterol and lowering the risk of heart disease, statins have also been reported to potentially lower the risks of other diseases, such as dementia. However, a study in the ...
Cholesterol-lowering medicines may be effective against cancer
Oct 27, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Millions of people around the world use medicines based on statins to lower their blood cholesterol, but new research from the University of Gothenburg, published in the prestigious journal PNAS, shows that s ...
Novel findings shed light on how N-type channel function is modified by lipids
Oct 26, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
The November 2009 issue of the Journal of General Physiology (JGP) contains two papers by the Rittenhouse laboratory that describe novel findings on how N-type voltage-gated calcium channel (VGCC) function is modified by lip ...
Scientists Use Self-Assembly to Make Molecule-Sized Particles With Patches of Charge
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Oct 20, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists, chemists and engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated a novel method for the controlled formation of patchy particles, using charged, self-assembling molecules ...
