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
Enhanced sweet taste: This is your tongue on pot
Dec 22, 2009 |
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New findings from the Monell Center and Kyushu University in Japan report that endocannabinoids act directly on taste receptors on the tongue to enhance sweet taste.
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Got smell? Research shows that accurate taste perception relies on a functioning olfactory system
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 22, 2009 |
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As anyone suffering through a head cold knows, food tastes wrong when the nose is clogged, an experience that leads many to conclude that the sense of taste operates normally only when the olfactory system is also in good ...
New human reproductive hormone could lead to novel contraceptives
Dec 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Nearly 10 years after the discovery that birds make a hormone that suppresses reproduction, University of California, Berkeley, neuroscientists have established that humans make it too, opening ...
We now know that the brain controls the formation of bone
Dec 22, 2009 |
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The brain acts as a profound regulatory centre, controlling myriad processes throughout the body in ways we are only just beginning to understand. In new findings, Australian scientists have shown surprising connections between ...
Up a little on the left... now, over to the right... Scientists find a source of nonallergic itch
Dec 22, 2009 |
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Scratching below the surface of a troublesome sensation that's equal parts tingle-tickle-prickle, sensory scientists from Johns Hopkins have discovered in mice a molecular basis for nonallergic itch.
Naturally occurring lipid blocks RSV infection in lungs
Dec 21, 2009 |
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Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered that a naturally occurring lipid in the lung can prevent RSV infection and inhibit spread of the virus after an infection is established. RSV is the major cause of hospitalization ...
Protein inhibits cancer cell growth
Dec 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Toronto and Goethe University in Germany have discovered a protein that can inhibit the growth of cancer cells, providing crucial clues for the future development of new drugs ...
Science's breakthrough of the year: Uncovering 'Ardi'
Dec 17, 2009 |
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The research that brought to light the fossils of Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid species that lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia, has topped Science's list of this year's most significant s ...
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