Science expands Science Signaling, featuring research related to medical advances...(re channels which allow charged atoms ca...)

Date:4/16/2008

re channels, which allow charged atoms called ions to move into or out of the cell. Ions zooming along these cellular corridors then change the electrical potential of the cell, thereby propagating a signal. Other, more complicated forms of signal transduction involve receptors, enzymes, protein interactions, or even the interaction of proteins with DNA or RNA.

Some signal transduction researchers are trying to understand the molecular targets of currently used drugs and chemicals; whereas others seek to understand the aberrant signaling that can cause disease in order to develop new targeted therapeutics.

Some researchers in the field are investigating, for example, how signaling by members of the Toll-like receptor family, which are involved in the first response to pathogens, may contribute to cancer and may prove to be an attractive target for treatment of this complex disease. Others are trying to understand how signaling events lead to changes in the brain that produce learning and memory or what changes in brain signaling cause mood disorders in order to develop more effective therapies.

Understanding signaling pathways is also important for understanding how pathogens infect their hosts. For agriculture, researchers are trying to understand the signaling events that allow plants adapt to changes in their environment, as well as the signals that allow plants to communicate with each other or repel the insects that would eat them or attract the beneficial insects, such as those that would help pollination.

Specific Examples of Signaling Research

• Insect Repellent

  Blood-feeding insects are responsible for spreading some of the deadliest infectious diseases and topically applied insect repellents play a crucial role in protecting humans from these insects. Researchers found that in fruit flies and in the malaria mosquito, DEET, which has been widely used in insect repellents for many years, bl
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Contact: Natasha Pinol npinol@aaas.org 202-326-7088 American Association for the Advancement of Science Source:Eurekalert

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