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Nature 411, 252-255 (17 May 2001) | doi:10.1038/35077192
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Two Post-Doctoral Position In Nanomedicine
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico "Carlo Besta" (FINCB)
- Via Celoria n.11, 20133 Milano, Italy
Faculty Positions
- University of Texas Medical Branch
- Galveston, TX United States
Neurobiology: Snails, synapses and smokers
Dennis A. Dougherty1 & Henry A. Lester
Abstract
The discovery of a protein that controls the transmission of nerve impulses in snails is significant in its own right. It also advances our understanding of the vertebrate neurotransmitter receptor that responds to nicotine.
On pages 261 and 269 of this issue1, 2, Sixma and colleagues describe how they identified a protein, found in snails, that controls communication between nerve cells; how they characterized that protein's properties; and how they analysed its structure on the atomic scale. This comprehensive set of studies is impressive in itself.
- Dennis A. Dougherty is in the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1201 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91125-2900, USA.
Correspondence to: Henry A. Lester Henry A. Lester is in the Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, 1201 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91125-2900, USA.
e-mail: Email: lester@caltech.edu
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