Endocrinology is the scientific discipline that investigates the endocrine system, focusing on the synthesis, secretion, regulation, and actions of hormones and related signaling molecules. It encompasses the study of classical endocrine glands (such as pituitary, thyroid, adrenal, pancreatic islets, and gonads), dispersed neuroendocrine cells, and hormone receptors and downstream signaling pathways at cellular and molecular levels. Endocrinology integrates physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and genetics to elucidate mechanisms of hormonal homeostasis, feedback regulation, and inter-organ communication, and provides the foundational science for understanding endocrine pathophysiology, including disorders of growth, metabolism, reproduction, calcium balance, and stress responses.
Neanderthals were generally more strongly built than most people living today. Their bones show signs of large muscles, and they had characteristic features such as prominent brow ridges and relatively short tooth roots.
Evolution
Aug 5, 2026
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Researchers have found that an arginine vasopressin stimulation (AVP) test offers a reliable way to assess endocrine function in sick foals. The work, published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, could lead to ...
Veterinary medicine
Jul 27, 2026
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To function normally, nearly every cell in the human body relies on G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) to receive and send signals. That's why GPCRs are targeted by roughly one-third of all FDA-approved drugs.
Biotechnology
Jun 24, 2026
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At first glance, bat sea stars, the nubbly, orange, many-footed creatures often found on the seafloor, seem about as far from humans as one can get. Appearances can be deceiving, however. Scientists have found evidence showing ...
Evolution
Jun 23, 2026
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A new study has created a detailed map of the pituitary gland, often called the body's "master gland" because it controls important functions such as growth, stress and reproduction. Researchers from the Center for Craniofacial ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 13, 2026
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Iodine deficiency is often seen as a problem of the past, but this isn't entirely true. During the 20th century, the iodization of salt became one of the most effective public health interventions for preventing conditions ...
Environment
May 12, 2026
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Different receptors respond to different neurotransmitters or hormones, such as adrenaline involved in the fight-or-flight response, or dopamine linked to reward and motivation. Both the receptors themselves and the substances ...
Molecular & Computational biology
May 12, 2026
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Anyone who has seen a hummingbird poking her beak deep into a trumpet creeper blossom, or a honeyeater using its brush-tipped tongue to extract nectar from eucalyptus flowers, has witnessed something that, from a human perspective, ...
Evolution
Feb 26, 2026
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The evolution of the human species is marked by an increase in brain size. Now new research suggests that could be partly dependent on increases in prenatal estrogen—revealed by looking at the length of a person's fingers. ...
Evolution
Feb 5, 2026
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Snakes may well be one of nature's greatest predators, capable of eating whole deer or even crocodiles, but just as impressive is that they can go months, or even a whole year, without a single meal. And now an international ...
