| Title |
Clocking the Lyme Spirochete
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
PLOS ONE, February 2008
|
| DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0001633 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Stephen E. Malawista, Anne de Boisfleury Chevance |
| Abstract |
In order to clear the body of infecting spirochetes, phagocytic cells must be able to get hold of them. In real-time phase-contrast videomicroscopy we were able to measure the speed of Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), the Lyme spirochete, moving back and forth across a platelet to which it was tethered. Its mean crossing speed was 1,636 microm/min (N = 28), maximum, 2800 microm/min (N = 3). This is the fastest speed recorded for a spirochete, and upward of two orders of magnitude above the speed of a human neutrophil, the fastest cell in the body. This alacrity and its interpretation, in an organism with bidirectional motor capacity, may well contribute to difficulties in spirochete clearance by the host. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 20 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 6 | 30% |
| Canada | 2 | 10% |
| Germany | 1 | 5% |
| France | 1 | 5% |
| Unknown | 10 | 50% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 18 | 90% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 5% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 5% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 21 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Russia | 3 | 14% |
| Unknown | 18 | 86% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 6 | 29% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 4 | 19% |
| Student > Bachelor | 2 | 10% |
| Student > Master | 2 | 10% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 1 | 5% |
| Other | 4 | 19% |
| Unknown | 2 | 10% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 5 | 24% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 4 | 19% |
| Immunology and Microbiology | 3 | 14% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 1 | 5% |
| Business, Management and Accounting | 1 | 5% |
| Other | 5 | 24% |
| Unknown | 2 | 10% |