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
New cannabis-like drugs could block pain without affecting brain, says study
Medicine & Health / Medications
Sep 12, 2008 |
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A new type of drug could alleviate pain in a similar way to cannabis without affecting the brain, according to a new study published in the journal Pain on Monday 15 September.
Scientists identify machinery that helps make memories
Biology /
Oct 30, 2008 |
4.7 / 5 (17) |
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A major puzzle for neurobiologists is how the brain can modify one microscopic connection, or synapse, at a time in a brain cell and not affect the thousands of other connections nearby. Plasticity, the ability of the brain ...
Colon cancer shuts down receptor that could shut it down
Apr 13, 2009 |
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Though a high-fiber diet has long been considered good for you and beneficial in staving off colon cancer, Medical College of Georgia researchers have discovered a reason why: roughage activates a receptor ...
A molecule keeps anxiety down
Aug 19, 2008 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The link between emotions and experiences determines many aspects of our daily life. It allows us to recognize pretty objects or harmful situations. These links are created when nerve cells ...
Neurobiologist proposes 'The end of sex as we once knew it'
Feb 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Women are not from Venus any more than men are from Mars. But even though both sexes are perfectly terrestrial beings, they are not lacking in other differences. And not only in their reproductive organs ...
Life under the laser
Aug 22, 2008 |
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Researchers at The University of Nottingham have developed a unique technology that will allow scientists to look at microscopic activity within the body's chemical messenger system for the very first time, live as it happens.
Researchers find new actions of neurochemicals (w/ Video)
Jul 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Although the tiny roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans has only 302 neurons in its entire nervous system, studies of this simple animal have significantly advanced our understanding of human ...
Researchers create first model for retina receptors
Sep 30, 2008 |
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A team of scientists at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center has created the first genetic research model for a microscopic part of the eye that when missing causes blindness. The research appears in a recent ...
Prune juice not necessary: New research should make bowel movements easier
Apr 08, 2009 |
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If you hate prune juice and chalky fiber supplements, just sit down and relax. Help is on the way. In a research report published online in The FASEB Journal, a team of researchers has discovered a new way to make it a l ...
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.
This is your brain on fatty acids
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 30, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
1
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 ...
Irritable bowel syndrome can have genetic causes
Dec 10, 2008 |
4.5 / 5 (6) |
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Irritations of the bowel can have genetic causes. Researchers at the Institute of Human Genetics at Heidelberg University Hospital have discovered this correlation. The causes of what is known as irritable bowel syndrome ...
Our brains make their own marijuana: We're all pot heads deep inside
Apr 20, 2009 |
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U.S. and Brazilian scientists have just proven that one of Bob Dylan's most famous lines—"everybody must get stoned"— is correct. That's because they've discovered that the brain manufactures proteins that act like marijuana ...
Scientists eavesdrop on the exciting conversations within cells
Biology /
Feb 25, 2009 |
5 / 5 (5) |
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Scientists have discovered the secrets of a sophisticated molecule that plays a role in many aspects of human health from fertility to blood pressure; digestion to mental health. This has opened up the potential for discovery ...
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 ...
