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"PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH (PCD) or apoptosis is critical for cellular self-destruction for a variety of processes such as development or the prevention of oncogenic transformation. PCD must be tightly controlled since disregulated cell death is involved in the development of a large number of different pathologies. To counter the multitude of processes that are capable of triggering death, cells have devised a large number of cellular processes that serve to prevent inappropriate or premature PCD." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167488910002764 View in LinkedIn

ACTIVE GENE EXCHANGE. "A large analysis of almost 120,000 homologous DNA families has recently concluded that plasmids and other vehicles of gene exchange have been and still are mainly responsible for gene exchange among bacterial chromosomes." https://lnkd.in/eXE-r93 View in LinkedIn

WIDESPREAD. "The process of programmed cell death, or apoptosis, is generally characterized by distinct morphological characteristics and energy-dependent biochemical mechanisms. Apoptosis is considered a vital component of various processes including normal cell turnover, proper development and functioning of the immune system, hormone-dependent atrophy, embryonic development and chemical-induced cell death." https://lnkd.in/eFmC7Ys View in LinkedIn

MOSTLY IMPORTED GENES. "Recent estimates suggesting that on average 81% of prokaryotic genes have been involved in HGT at some point." https://lnkd.in/e5G7Nk8 View in LinkedIn

SACRIFICING THE WEAK. "All metazoan as well as all protozoan cells examined have the ability to undergo apoptosis when conditions are appropriate. The sacrifice of individual cells that are defective, damaged or otherwise a potential threat to the integrity of the whole organism, or to the colony in the case of protozoans, is thought to be an important survival mechanism." https://lnkd.in/ekVSuhr View in LinkedIn

PROKARYOTES. "Our results clearly show that genetic modification of organisms by lateral transfer is a widespread natural phenomenon." https://lnkd.in/e5eZ_2E View in LinkedIn

BIRTH-DEATH BALANCE. "The cells of a multicellular organism are members of a highly organized community. The number of cells in this community is tightly regulated—not simply by controlling the rate of cell division, but also by controlling the rate of cell death. If cells are no longer needed, they commit suicide by activating an intracellular death program." https://lnkd.in/eaj7Brc View in LinkedIn

POETIC ETYMOLOGY. "The word ‘‘apoptosis’’ comes from the Ancient Greek...meaning the ‘‘falling off of petals from a flower’’ or ‘‘of leaves from a tree in autumn’’. https://lnkd.in/e2jYAUk View in LinkedIn

LARGE TOPIC. "Apoptosis has become a major research area in the bio-medical sciences. As there are more than 13,000 papers published annually on the topic, it is impossible to keep track on all developments in the area. Over the last 10 years, the number of publications related to apoptosis has increased exponentially to now over 2% of the papers published in the life sciences." https://lnkd.in/e2jYAUk View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE this next two weekends deals with the remarkable topic of cell suicide (apoptosis). Either in context of massive tissue resculpting during development where entire tissue structures are re-engineered, or during injury where damaged cells are jettisoned, this is a ubiquitous, conserved, and irreversible event. Control of the cellular suicide machinery is critical for organisms. View in LinkedIn