Good narratives for lay descriptions:

Core Value:  Using non-technical (lay) language that a senior high school student would understand, briefly describe how this research project might improve the health of people and/or other animals.  A scientific abstract from a grant proposal is not acceptable.  Once completed, proceed to item

EXAMPLE 1:  The tissues that comprise the human body are made up of individual cells that are crowded together in organized communities. Outside of cells there is an aqueous extracellular "interstitial" space that has an extremely limited volume compared to the cells themselves. It is through this fluid that communication between cells occurs. We previously identified a new form of communication between cells that relies on  calcium (Ca2+) in this extracellular fluid. We also showed that big shifts in Ca2+ occur outside of cells when they are stimulated with certain hormones or subjected to other treatments. These changes are large enough to be detected by a particular population of cells that express a Ca2+ sensor (the extracellular Ca2+-sensing receptor) on their surface, causing them to become activated once they detect the Ca2+ message. It is likely that the Ca2+-sensing receptor plays an important role in integrating the function of tissues and organs by allowing cells to talk to one another so they can coordinate their activities. We propose to study how and when this receptor is turned on in real tissues of the alimentary tract (for example the stomach, intestines, liver), and how this affects the function of the tissue. In order to study this we will develop a new method for probing the local microenvironment outside of the cells. This part of the work is of general importance because these methods can be modified to permit study of many aspects of the biology of tissues under normal and pathological conditions (e.g. during inflammation, wound healing, and during the development of cancer). Knowing more specifically about the extracellular Ca2+-sensing receptor in the gastrointestinal system is also important because of the well documented link between increased calcium in the diet and the prevention of certain cancers. Our results may therefore help to define how dietary calcium exerts its protective effects on the cells of the gastrointestinal tract.