Word: receptor
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...They are part of the body's protective biochemical system for coping with pain and stress. Scientists suggest that people who can stand more pain than others may be able to call forth extra supplies of enkephalins. Those with a low tolerance for pain may be deficient in either receptor sites or enkephalins...
...discoveries also help explain narcotic addiction. Scientists speculate that under normal conditions, enkephalins bind to a certain number of receptor sites. Morphine acts to relieve pain by filling the remaining sites. But too much morphine overloads the system, causing enkephalin production to be cut off. More morphine is needed to fill the receptors and produce relief. If the narcotic is then withheld, all the receptors remain empty, resulting in typical withdrawal symptoms. With this knowledge, researchers hope to design nonaddictive pain relievers...
...enkephalins appear also to affect emotions. In mapping receptor sites Snyder found that the amygdala, a small portion of the brain that has no known role in physical pain but plays a major part in regulating the emotions, is unusually rich in opiate receptors. Thus variations in the number of receptors, or in the concentration of enkephalins?or the presence of narcotics?at these sites may affect emotions and behavior. Said Kosterlitz at the Manhattan award presentation: "The discovery of the enkephalins resembled the opening of Pandora's box, hopefully this time for the benefit of mankind...
...inserted into the DNA of E. coli bacteria which copies and decodes DNA rapidly. A ring of DNA--a plasmid--which is transferred between bacteria, is used for the incorporation procedure. It is easily isolated from a bacterial cell [1], cut open [2] and used as a receptor for a foreign gene [4]. The plasmid then carries the inserted DNA into a cell [5] where many copies can be "cloned...
...James Whyte Black of London's University College, a pharmacologist as well as physician, worked with chemists at Smith Kline & French Laboratories to find what are awkwardly called H2-receptor blockers. After testing over 700 compounds, they finally hit upon cimetidine. At present, their discovery has been approved for up to only eight-weeks' use by duodenal-ulcer patients and by victims of a few other diseases causing excessive acid secretion, like gastrinoma (tumors of the pancreas). Under the brand name Tagamet, the new drug should be available (on prescription only) by Labor Day. Cost of a four...