A research group has uncovered important details about how platelet-activating factor (PAF)—a powerful molecule involved in inflammation and allergic reactions—triggers contractions in the smooth ...

A research group led by Dr. Keisuke Obara, Dr. Kento Yoshioka, and Professor Yoshio Tanaka from the Department of Chemical Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, has ...

Muscle contractions during your menstrual cycle and pregnancy serve distinct purposes. Period cramps take place as the uterus ...

Gastrointestinal (GI) motility depends on smooth muscle contractions to propel contents through the digestive tract. GI muscle is organized into two perpendicular layers: the inner circular smooth ...

RUDN University scientists have discovered that in weightlessness, the contractile activity of smooth muscles in the hollow organs of the gastrointestinal tract is disrupted. New data must be taken ...

Maintenance of fecal continence requires a continuous or basal tone of the internal anal sphincter (IAS). Paradoxically, the basal tone results largely from high-frequency rhythmic contractions of the ...

Using powerful new visualization technologies, researchers have captured the first 3-D images of the structure of a key muscle receptor, providing new insights on how muscles develop across the animal ...

Muscle contraction is the tightening, shortening, or lengthening of muscles when you do some activity. It can happen when you hold or pick up something, or when you stretch or exercise with weights.

The flow of water within a muscle fiber may dictate how quickly muscle can contract, according to a new study. The flow of water within a muscle fiber may dictate how quickly muscle can contract, ...

The flow of water within a muscle fiber may dictate how quickly muscle can contract, according to a University of Michigan study. Nearly all animals use muscle to move, and it's been known for a long ...