Nitric oxide

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Nitric oxide or nitrogen monoxide is a chemical compound with chemical formula NO. This gas is an important signaling molecule in the body of mammals, including humans, and is an extremely important intermediate in the chemical industry. It is also an air pollutant produced by cigarette smoke, automobile engines and power plants.

NO is an important messenger molecule involved in many physiological and pathological processes within the mammalian body both beneficial and detrimental. Appropriate levels of NO production are important in protecting an organ such as the liver from ischemic damage. However sustained levels of NO production result in direct tissue toxicity and contribute to the vascular collapse associated with septic shock, whereas chronic expression of NO is associated with various carcinomas and inflammatory conditions including juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, arthritis and ulcerative colitis.

Nitric oxide should not be confused with nitrous oxide (N2O), a general anaesthetic and greenhouse gas, or with nitrogen dioxide (NO2) which is another air pollutant. The nitric oxide molecule is a free radical, which is relevant to understanding its high reactivity.

Despite being a simple molecule, NO is a fundamental player in the fields of neuroscience, physiology, and immunology, and was proclaimed “Molecule of the Year” in 1992.

For more information about Nitric oxide, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

News tagged with nitric oxide

Septic shock: Nitric oxide beneficial after all

Medicine & Health / Other

Dec 15, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

Scientists at VIB and Ghent University in Flanders, Belgium have found an unexpected ally for the treatment of septic shock, the major cause of death in intensive care units. By inducing the release of nitric oxide (NO) gas ...

Search results for nitric oxide

An easy way to see the world's thinnest material

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

13 hours ago | 4.8 / 5 (8) | 1

It's been used to dye the Chicago River green on St. Patrick's Day. It's been used to find latent blood stains at crime scenes. And now researchers at Northwestern University have used it to examine the thinnest material ...

Novel nanotechnology heals abscesses caused by resistant staph bacteria

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Dec 22, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed a new approach for treating and healing skin abscesses caused by bacteria resistant to most antibiotics. The study ...

Digital Quantum Battery Could Boost Energy Density Tenfold

Physics / Quantum Physics

Dec 22, 2009 | 5 / 5 (23) | 9

(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists theorize that quantum phenomena could provide a major boost to batteries, with the potential to increase energy density up to 10 times that of lithium ion batteries. According to ...

Graphite oxide at high pressure opens a road to new amazing nano-materials

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Dec 21, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- New results by scientists at Umeľ University, Sweden, show that not only water but also alcohol solvents can be inserted to expand the structure of graphite oxide under high pressure conditions. The ...

The next medical frontier: nano-surgery

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Dec 21, 2009 | 5 / 5 (3) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Engineering professor's nanorobot could be performing non-invasive surgical procedures on patients with tumors within the next decade.

Cornellians build computer climate-change model

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Dec 21, 2009 | 2.7 / 5 (7) | 5

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers are contributing to a new model of climate change that may give more accurate predictions of the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in Earth's future.

Panasonic Starts Mass-Production of High-Capacity 3.1 Ah Lithium-ion Battery

Technology / Energy

Dec 18, 2009 | 2 / 5 (2) | 2

Panasonic Corporation developed a 18650-type high-capacity 3.1 Ah lithium-ion battery and began mass production of the battery this December. The new 3.1 Ah battery has a nickel positive electrode and an energy density of ...

Organic flash memory developed

Technology / Semiconductors

Dec 17, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (20) | 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a non-volatile memory that has the same basic structure as a flash memory but is made from cheap, flexible, organic materials.

Cold war - Fighting the threat of latent TB (w/ Podcast)

Medicine & Health / Diseases

Dec 15, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists are making breakthroughs in studying the latent form of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This work could revolutionise the treatment of TB.