Genes Promoting Nerve, Other Cell Communications May Have Come From Bacteria

Complexity Digest 2004.23 - 10

07-Jun-2004

Alan Guth - Inflationary Universe
ICCS2004 - Slides in pdf format now on-line at:

http://www.comdig2.de/conf/iccs04

Genes Promoting Nerve, Other Cell Communications May Have Come From Bacteria, ScienceDaily

Excerpts: Specifically, the genes contain the information needed to make enzymes, which, in turn are crucial for making the complex molecules that cells use to communicate with each other. The researchers also identified genes for enzymes that are involved in the manufacture of the following chemical messengers: * acetylcholine - involved in learning and memory, muscle contraction, * dopamine - the absence of which results in Parkinson's disease * norepinephrine and epinephrine - involved in alertness, vascular tone * serotonin - involved in mood, * glutamate - involved in alertness * nitric oxide - involved in many bodily functions, including blood pressure regulation * histamine - involved in the allergic response

Source: Genes Promoting Nerve, Other Cell Communications May Have Come From Bacteria
[ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/06/040603063920.htm ], ScienceDaily & NIH/National Institute Of Child Health And Human Development, 2004/06/03
Contributed by Atin Das - dasatinyahoo.co.in