Related topics: protein
Receptor (biochemistry)
hideIn biochemistry, a receptor is a protein molecule, embedded in either the plasma membrane or cytoplasm of a cell, to which a mobile signaling (or "signal") molecule may attach. A molecule which binds to a receptor is called a "ligand," and may be a peptide (such as a neurotransmitter), a hormone, a pharmaceutical drug, or a toxin, and when such binding occurs, the receptor undergoes a conformational change which ordinarily initiates a cellular response. However, some ligands merely block receptors without inducing any response (e.g. antagonists). Ligand-induced changes in receptors result in physiological changes which constitute the biological activity of the ligands.
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News tagged with receptors
Small Fingers More Touch Sensitive
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 16, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
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When it comes to finger sensitivity, bigger isn't always better.
New biosensors reveal workings of anti-psychotic drugs in the living brain
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 13, 2009 |
4 / 5 (3) |
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Scientists have resolved a question about how a popular class of drugs used to treat schizophrenia works using biosensors that reveal previously hidden components of chemical communication in the brain.
Why King Kong failed to impress
Dec 08, 2009 |
2 / 5 (2) |
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Humans have the same receptors for detecting odors related to sex as do other apes and primates. But each species uses them in different ways, stemming from the way the genes for these receptors have evolved over time, according ...
Hindering HIV-1-fighting immune cells
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Dec 14, 2009 |
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Immune proteins called HLA molecules help to activate killer T cell responses against pathogens. But according to a study that will be published online on December 14th in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, one partic ...
Scientists find emotion-like behaviors, regulated by dopamine, in fruit flies
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 25, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have uncovered evidence of a primitive emotion-like behavior in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Their findings, which may be relevant to the relationship betwee ...
'The pill' for him: Scientists find a hormonal on-and-off switch for male fertility
Nov 30, 2009 |
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A new research report published in the December 2009 print issue of The FASEB Journal could one day give men similar type of control over their fertility that women have had since the 1960s. That's because scientists have f ...
Researchers solve structure of NMDA receptor unit that could be drug target for neurological diseases
Nov 12, 2009 |
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A team of scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory reports on Thursday their success in solving the molecular structure of a key portion of a cellular receptor implicated in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other serious ...
Dietary fats trigger long-term memory formation
Apr 27, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (4) |
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Having strong memories of that rich, delicious dessert you ate last night? If so, you shouldn't feel like a glutton. It's only natural.
'Comfort food' a stress killer: Australian study
Nov 24, 2009 |
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A high-fat, high-sugar diet could have the same effect on brain chemistry as mood-altering drugs, giving scientific support to the craving for "comfort food", Australian researchers said Tuesday.
This is your brain on fatty acids
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 30, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
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Saturated fats have a deservedly bad reputation, but Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that a sticky lipid occurring naturally at high levels in the brain may help us memorize grandma's recipe for cinnamon buns, as ...
Research reveals exactly how coughing is triggered by environmental irritants
Nov 23, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have revealed how environmental irritants such as air pollution and cigarette smoke cause people to cough, in research published today in the American Journal of Respiratory an ...
Scientists Discover An Ancient Odor-Detecting Mechanism in Insects
Biology /
Jan 08, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In 1913 Theodore Roosevelt added cartographer to his resume when he and his crew ventured up an unspeakably dangerous and uncharted tributary named the River of Doubt. Now, on a charting expedition ...
A master mechanism for regeneration?
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 19, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
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ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Biologists long have marveled at the ability of some animals to re-grow lost body parts. Newts, for example, can lose a leg and grow a new one identical to the original. Zebrafish can re-grow fins.
Janus particles: particles with two faces
Sep 18, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (5) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology at the University of Twente, The Netherlands, have devised a method for fabricating Janus particles, so called because, like the Roman ...
Key Brain Receptors Linked To Learning and Memory Decrease with Age
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Sep 11, 2009 |
5 / 5 (5) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists studying cognitive decline that accompanies aging have been interested in nicotinic receptors, part of a key neural pathway that not only enhances learning and memory skills but ...
