Word: proteins
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INCREDIBLE EDIBLE Get vaccinated by eating veggies? Maybe one day. Scientists have bioengineered a potato to contain a protein that causes diarrhea. When subjects eat it, they develop antibodies to the diarrhea...
Hamer switched to behavioral genetics from basic research; after receiving his Ph.D. from Harvard, he spent more than a decade studying the biochemistry of metallothionein, a protein that cells use to metabolize heavy metals like copper and zinc. As he was about to turn 40, however, Hamer suddenly realized he had learned as much about metallothionein as he cared to. "Frankly, I was bored," he remembers, "and ready for something...
...this be? After all, as Hamer and Copeland observe in their book, "...genes are not switches that say 'shy' or 'outgoing' or 'happy' or 'sad.' Genes are simply chemicals that direct the combination of more chemicals." What genes do is order up the production of proteins in organs like the kidney, the skin and also the brain. Thus, Hamer speculates, one version of the novelty-seeking gene may make a protein that is less efficient at absorbing dopamine. Since dopamine is the chemical that creates sensations of pleasure in response to intense experiences, people who inherit this gene might seek...
...REST FOR THE BREAST Another reason for moms to breast-feed babies: breast milk contains lactadherin, a protein that seems to fight off the virus that causes most infant diarrhea...
...What we hope to achieve is working with the pharmaceuticals industry to provide them with novel targets, gene products, which we feel are ripe for the development of a novel therapeutic, whether it be a small molecule or a protein therapeutic," says Robert Tepper, chief scientific officer for pharmaceuticals at Millennium...