Cell membrane

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The cell membrane (also called the plasma membrane or plasmalemma) is the biological membrane separating the interior of a cell from the outside environment.

It is a semipermeable lipid bilayer found in all cells. It contains a wide variety of biological molecules, primarily proteins and lipids, which are involved in a vast array of cellular processes such as cell adhesion, ion channel conductance and cell signaling. The plasma membrane also serves as the attachment point for both the intracellular cytoskeleton and, if present, the extracellular cell wall.

For more information about Cell membrane, read the full article at Wikipedia.
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News tagged with plasma membrane

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HIV tamed by designer 'leash'

Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS

created Oct 29, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 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 ...


Study finds new way deadly food-borne bacteria spread

Study finds new way deadly food-borne bacteria spread

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Sep 21, 2009 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

University of Central Florida Microbiology Professor Keith Ireton has uncovered a previously unknown mechanism that plays an important role in the spread of a deadly food-borne bacterium.


HIV-1's 'hijacking mechanism' pinpointed by researchers

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Jun 10, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Researchers at McGill University and the affiliated Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital - along with colleagues at the University of Manitoba and the University of British Columbia ...


New view of HIV entry may lead to next generation of inhibitors

Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS

created Apr 30, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 2

Scientists may need to rethink the design of drugs meant to block HIV from infecting human cells, according to a study that appears in the May 1st issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication. That's because the ne ...


Detailed surface features of the matrix protein

Matrix protein key to fighting viruses

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Apr 29, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Researchers from Durham University's Centre for Bioactive Chemistry are developing methods that show how proteins interact with cell membranes when a virus strikes. Using their approach, the team hopes to ...


Cholesterol appears to promote tamoxifen resistance in some breast cancer cells

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Apr 20, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Breast cancer cells in the laboratory that don't respond to tamoxifen may be producing high amounts of cholesterol in order to provide a kind of shield against the drug, say researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center ...


Researchers uncover secrets of salmonella's stealth attack

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 16, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

A single crafty protein allows the deadly bacterium Salmonella enterica to both invade cells lining the intestine and hijack cellular functions to avoid destruction, Yale researchers report in the April 17 issue of the jo ...


Cell 'anchors' required to prevent muscular dystrophy

Medicine & Health / Research

created Jan 13, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

A protein that was first identified for playing a key role in regulating normal heart rhythms also appears to be significant in helping muscle cells survive the forces of muscle contraction. The clue was a laboratory mouse ...