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splashmtn Star Player
Joined: 30 Aug 2016 Posts: 3961
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 3:49 pm Post subject: Scientists Discover New Shape |
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/science/scientists-discover-new-shape-and-it-might-be-inside-you-right-now/ar-BBLg9d9?OCID=ansmsnnews11
Quote: | ...Much of our bodies are covered in epithelial cells, which are cells designed to stick very closely together in order to form some type of barrier or wall. Our skin cells are epithelial cells, as are the cells that form the walls of many of our organs. One of the most important functions these cells have is keeping things either inside or outside of the areas they surround, so forming a tight wall is of paramount importance.
So what shape do these cells take? Most scientists previously believed that these cells were shaped like simple cylinders, but new research suggests they take a more complicated shape. Researchers at the University of Seville ran a computer simulation to determine what the most efficient shape would be, and their simulation settled on a strange prism-like shape.
The shape has six sides at the top and five sides at the bottom, and one of the sides had a triangular protrusion. Crucially, this shape-which the scientists named the "scutoid" after the similarly-named and -shaped scutellum of a beetle-does indeed stack much better than a simple cylinder.
But just because a computer says it’s the best shape doesn’t mean that anything in nature actually uses it, so the researchers examined cells from fruit flies and zebrafish to see if the scutoid shows up in those animals’ epithelial tissue. To their delight, it did. They’re not certain whether these scutoid-shaped cells exist in humans as well, but there’s a good chance.
In addition to discovering what epithelial cells look like, these researchers also discovered a brand new shape new to mathematics. .. |
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xxsicrokerxx Star Player
Joined: 11 Dec 2011 Posts: 2205
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 10:58 pm Post subject: |
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Very interesting, brings me back to looking at different cell shapes under a microscope in Anatomy. |
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loslakersss Franchise Player
Joined: 31 Dec 2008 Posts: 11853 Location: LA
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Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 6:35 am Post subject: |
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I thought this was going to be an Onion article. |
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Surfitall Star Player
Joined: 12 Feb 2002 Posts: 3829 Location: South Orange County
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Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 7:54 am Post subject: |
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Draws a circle. "You know...for kids!" |
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vanexelent Retired Number
Joined: 17 May 2005 Posts: 30081
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Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 7:56 am Post subject: |
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Call me when they discover a new size. |
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Gatekeeper Star Player
Joined: 11 Jan 2012 Posts: 5103 Location: Southland Native
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governator Franchise Player
Joined: 28 Jan 2006 Posts: 24996
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Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 12:34 pm Post subject: |
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Scutoid bod is in |
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