Prostaglandins, bioassay and inflammation.
(33/112)
The formation of the British Pharmacological Society coincided almost exactly with a series of ground-breaking studies that ushered in an entirely new field of research--that of lipid mediator pharmacology. For many years following their chemical characterisation, lipids were considered only to be of dietary or structural importance. From the 1930s, all this changed--slowly at first and then more dramatically in the 1970s and 1980s with the emergence of the prostaglandins (PGs), the first intercellular mediators to be clearly derived from lipids, in a dynamic on-demand system. The PGs exhibit a wide range of biological activities that are still being evaluated and their properties underlie the action of one of the world's all-time favourite medicines, aspirin, as well as its more modern congeners. This paper traces the development of the PG field, with particular emphasis on the skillfull utilisation of the twin techniques of bioassay and analytical chemistry by U.K. and Swedish scientists, and the intellectual interplay between them that led to the award of a joint Nobel Prize to the principal researchers in the PG field, half a century after the first discovery of these astonishingly versatile mediators. (+info)
The scientific roots of Jose A. Campos-Ortega, a German neurobiologist born in Spain.
(34/112)
In this review article, we shall focus our attention on the initial steps in the research career of Jose A. Campos-Ortega and the studies he undertook. Particular emphasis will be placed on how these early experiences shaped his personality and his future scientific contributions. (+info)
Turning off neurotransmitters.
(35/112)
The historic discovery that the catecholamine neurotransmitters of the sympathetic nervous system, norepinephrine and epinephrine, are inactivated through their reuptake by presynaptic nerve terminals provided new insights into neurotransmitter action and paved the way for the development of modern antidepressant drugs. (+info)
Science for life: a conversation with Nobel laureate David Baltimore. Interview by Barbara J Culliton.
(36/112)
As a man with equal interests in science and science policy, David Baltimore has been at the forefront of many of the important debates that have shaped science since the 1970s. Very much engaged in the initial discussions about the use of recombinant DNA technology, Baltimore had a front-row seat as the biotechnology industry developed. He was also a major player in the decision that resulted in funding of the Human Genome Project by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Baltimore discusses biotechnology, science education, and the need for a strong dialogue among scientists and scholars in the health policy community. (+info)
Physics and the origins of molecular biology.
(37/112)
Bohr, Delbruck and Schrodinger were physicists who had important influences on biology in the second half of the twentieth century. They thought that future studies of the gene might reveal new principles or paradoxes, analogous to the wave/particle paradox of light propagation, or even new physical laws. This stimulated several physicists to enter the field of biology. Delbruck founded the bacteriophage group which provided one of the roots of molecular biology. Another was X-ray crystallography which led to the discovery of DNA structure. The strength and success of molecular biology came from the many interactions between geneticists, physicists, chemists and biochemists. It was also characterized by a powerful combination of theoretical and experimental approaches. (+info)
Transformation.
(38/112)
The Nobel process for science are often somewhat controversial for who they omit. A posthumous Nobel honor could help recognize some neglected heroes. (+info)
RNA interference: big applause for silencing in Stockholm.
(39/112)
Eight years ago, Craig Mello, Andrew Fire, and their coworkers provided the first demonstration that double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) triggers the gene-silencing technique that we now call RNA interference (RNAi). For this landmark discovery, Mello and Fire are honored with this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. (+info)
A long time in the making--the Nobel Prize for RNA polymerase.
(40/112)
The 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Roger Kornberg for elucidating the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription. The prize caps a decades-long quest to unlock one of the central mysteries of molecular biology-how RNA transcripts are assembled. (+info)