A.Y. Chen Illustration & Design
  • Home
  • Portfolio
    • National Science Foundation (NSF)
    • Science magazine art
    • Vector Art
    • Black & White
    • Classic work
  • Animation
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Children's book art

Enough about DNA...for now.

5/1/2015

0 Comments

 
Bisphosphonate signals osteoclasts and osteoblasts,
Switching gears, someone asked about me bones, having recently broken one of hers. We don't think of bones as being dynamic, we think of them as the key to our stability, holding up all our muscles. But bones are constantly being broken down by cells called osteoclasts (red cells in pic), and new layers are laid down by osteoblasts (green cells). In younger, healthy adults and children, this process takes place efficiently and on its own, so when you break a bone, the only thing to do is to minimize the movement of the bone such that it will set in alignment (think about putting a broken vase back together), and then let the osteoclasts and osteoblasts do their thing. 

In older adults, bisphosphonate, a common medication to treat osteoporosis, works on the bone cells. I have retro-fitted this old pic of mine to begin discussion. Essentially, bisphosphonate signals the osteoclasts to slow down what they do, while it signals the osteoblasts to increase their activity. Can anyone guess as to what the result of all this signalling leads to?
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    The purpose of this blog is to explore more effective and exciting ways to communicate science.

    Archives

    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.