Treating addiction: Cryo-EM technology enables the 'impossible'
Scientists used a compound found in a shrub native to Africa to reveal the three major shapes of the serotonin transporter, a protein in the brain linked to anxiety and depression.
Scientists used a compound found in a shrub native to Africa to reveal the three major shapes of the serotonin transporter, a protein in the brain linked to anxiety and depression.
Biochemistry
Apr 24, 2019
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The development and improvement of pharmaceuticals plays the central role in the ongoing battle against human disease. Organic synthesis is the field that enables these developments as it offers the toolbox to diversify chemical ...
Biochemistry
Mar 5, 2019
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24
Using a novel optogenetic tool, researchers have successfully controlled, reproduced and visualised serotonin receptor signals in neural cells. To this end, they modified a photosensitive membrane receptor in the eye, namely ...
Biochemistry
Feb 14, 2019
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5
Crickets that are exposed to human drugs that alter serotonin levels in the brain are less active and less aggressive than crickets that have had no drug exposure, according to a new study led by researchers from Linköping ...
Ecology
Nov 19, 2018
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7
In November 2017, a Titan Krios cryo-electron microscope (cryo-EM) was inaugurated at the ESRF, the European Synchrotron, France. Data collected on this cryo-EM features in a Nature publication describing the activation cycle ...
Biochemistry
Oct 31, 2018
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22
Serotonin, known as the "happiness" neurotransmitter, is a chemical found in the body responsible for feelings of well-being. But serotonin isn't the only chemical that binds to the 13 serotonin receptors found on the surface ...
Biochemistry
Aug 20, 2018
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333
Inhibiting the production of the 'happiness' hormone – serotonin – in rice plants, increases their resistance to two of the world's most destructive and costly insect pests, new research has shown.
Biotechnology
May 15, 2018
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206
Slugs and snails are the bane of almost every vegetable planting gardener and farmer. Slugs in particular have voracious appetites and are relentless in eating stems, leaves and shoots. No wonder gardeners have sought any ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 10, 2018
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7
A team of researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have used Nobel prize-winning microscope technology to see full length serotonin receptors for the first time. The tiny proteins—approximately ...
Biochemistry
Feb 6, 2018
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57
A team of researchers from France and Australia has identified the neurological mechanism that underlies honeybee aggression in response to threats. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group ...