Cosmic Structure Traced by Precision Measurements of the X-Ray Brightest Galaxy Clusters in the Sky

The current status of our efforts to trace cosmic structure with 10^6 galaxies (2MASS), 10^3 galaxy clusters (NORAS II cluster survey), and precision measurements for 10^2 galaxy clusters (HIFLUGCS) is given. The latter is illustrated in more detail with results on the gas temperature and metal abundance structure for 10^0 cluster (A1644) obtained with XMM-Newton.Comment: 4 pages; to be published in the Proceedings of the Conference: The Emergence of Cosmic Structure, College Park, MD (2002), editors: S.S. Holt and C. Reynolds; also available at http://www.reiprich.ne

Manipulation of host hepatocytes by the malaria parasite for delivery into liver sinusoids

The merozoite stage of the malaria parasite that infects erythrocytes and causes the symptoms of the disease is initially formed inside host hepatocytes. However, the mechanism by which hepatic merozoites reach blood vessels (sinusoids) in the liver and escape the host immune system before invading erythrocytes remains unknown. Here, we show that parasites induce the death and the detachment of their host hepatocytes, followed by the budding of parasite-filled vesicles (merosomes) into the sinusoid lumen. Parasites simultaneously inhibit the exposure of phosphatidylserine on the outer leaflet of host plasma membranes, which act as eat me'' signals to phagocytes. Thus, the hepatocyte-derived merosomes appear to ensure both the migration of parasites into the bloodstream and their protection from host immunity.Bernhard Nocht Inst Trop Med, D-20359 Hamburg, GermanyInst Pasteur, Dept Parasitol, F-75724 Paris 15, FranceUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biochem, BR-04044020 São Paulo, BrazilUniv Hamburg, Hosp Eppendorf, Dept Hepatobiliary Surg, D-20246 Hamburg, GermanyUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biochem, BR-04044020 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc