Latest G protein coupled receptors Stories

Halting Obesity With Opioid Receptors, Scientists Say

2012-07-31 12:45:40

New research in the FASEB Journals demonstrates that blocking the delta opioid receptor in mice created resistance to weight gain and stimulated gene expression promoting non-shivering thermogenesis Imagine eating all of the sugar and fat that you want without gaining a pound. Thanks to new research published in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org), the day may come when this is not too far from reality. That's because researchers from the United States and Europe have found that...

Educational Achievement Possibly Affected by Genes

2012-07-03 06:04:45

Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online The debate regarding nurture versus nature is contentious. New research delves into discussion with a study on the impact of genes on school achievement. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), researchers have determined that genetic markets could impact whether a person graduates high school and continues onto higher education. The study, published in the July issue of the APA’s Development Psychology, is...

Chronic Pain Linked To Naturally Occurring Protein

2012-06-12 10:46:57

Researchers in France and Sweden have discovered how one of the body's own proteins is involved in generating chronic pain in rats. The results, which also suggest therapeutic interventions to alleviate long-lasting pain, are reported in The EMBO Journal. Chronic pain is persistent and often difficult to treat. It is due, at least in part, to changes in molecular signalling events that take place in neurons, alterations that can ultimately disrupt the transmission of nerve signals from the...

New Molecules Important for Vision and Brain Function

2012-06-12 06:23:43

In a pair of related studies, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified several proteins that help regulate cells’ response to light—and the development of night blindness, a rare disease that abolishes the ability to see in dim light. In the new studies, published recently in the journals Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and The Journal of Cell Biology, Scripps Florida scientists were able to show that a family of...

Light-Responsive Melanopsin Found in Many Parts of the Human Brain

2012-05-21 06:25:23

OULU, Finland, May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- More evidence of the effectiveness of bright light directed at the brain A new study by Oulu University found large amounts of a light-sensitive OPN4-protein, melanopsin [http://www.valkee.com/uk/science.html#navigation ], in the human brain. The mood-enhancing influence and circadian pacemaking properties of bright light when administered through eyes has been shown in earlier studies to be based on the OPN4-protein. In those...

Receptos to Deliver Scientific Presentation at Digestive Disease Week 2012 about the Therapeutic Role of RPC1063 in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

2012-05-18 02:24:42

SAN DIEGO, May 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Receptos Inc. today announced that company personnel will deliver a scientific podium presentation about RPC1063 at the Digestive Disease Week (DDW) annual meeting at 9 a.m. PDT on Sunday, May 20, 2012 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. DDW attracts thousands of physicians, researchers, and academics from around the world to share the latest research in gastrointestinal health topics, for which DDW is the premier...

Sundown Syndrome-Like Symptoms In Fruit Flies May Be Because Of High Dopamine Levels

2012-05-14 10:21:22

Changes in flies parallel human disorder Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania researchers have discovered a mechanism involving the neurotransmitter dopamine that switches fruit fly behavior from being active during the day (diurnal) to nocturnal. This change parallels a human disorder in which increased agitation occurs in the evening hours near sunset and may also be due to higher than normal dopamine levels in the brain. Sundown syndrome occurs in older people...

Omeros Adds Four More Unlocked Orphan GPCRs to its Portfolio

2012-05-03 02:31:34

SEATTLE, May 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Omeros Corporation (NASDAQ: OMER) today announced that it has identified compounds that functionally interact with each of four additional orphan G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Without compounds that functionally interact with orphan GPCRs, developing drugs targeting those receptors is extremely difficult. Omeros has now unlocked 37 of them, representing over 45 percent of the Class A orphan GPCRs. There are approximately 120 orphan GPCRs...

Heptares Review Article Highlights Promise of Structure-Based Drug Design for G Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs)

2012-04-24 22:20:57

WELWYN GARDEN CITY, England and BOSTON, April 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Review published in Trends in Pharmacological Sciences Heptares Therapeutics, the leading GPCR drug discovery company, announces the recent publication of a major review of the state of the art for GPCR drug discovery and new insights that, for the first time, can be obtained from structural biology. The review has been published online in Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, a Cell...

Spurned In Love, Study Finds Fruit Flies Turn To Alcohol

2012-03-16 07:48:23

[ Watch the Video ] A male, his affections spurned by a female that he's attracted to, is driven to excessive alcohol consumption. The story may be familiar, but in this case, the lead characters aren't humans -- they're fruit flies. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), have discovered that like their Homo sapiens counterparts, male members of the species Drosophila melanogaster tend to, for lack of a better term, "get drunk" after being rejected by...