A Harvard Medical School scientist has made an experiment which may provide clues to understanding the functions of cell membranes in the body.
Dr. Samuel Bogoch, Assistant in Psychiatry, has succeeded in injecting brain ganglioside, a chemical constituent isolated from the brains of mice, into living mice to absorb two kinds of influenza viruses before they can reach their normal chemical receptors in the brain.
"Injection of either of the influenza viruses into the brains of the mice," Dr. Bogoch explained, "caused convulsions and death of the animals. But when brain ganglioside was injected before, together with, or in certain cases, after the viruses were injected into the brain, the neurotoxic effects were prevented."
This experiment has led Dr. Bogoch to believe that the isolated brain constituent is chemically either similar or identical to the natural receptor substances in the brain. It therefore attracts the viruses to itself and prevents their damaging the brain.
Read more in News
A Partial Farewell to Alma LutzRecommended Articles
-
Nitrogen Not Required for Brain DrugsResearchers have needlessly limited themselves in the search for new drugs by following an assumption that may not be correct,
-
fMRI Scans Shed Light on Mechanisms of MemoryWhy is it we can remember every word of an annoying commercial but not where we last saw the television
-
Researchers Identify New Region of BrainProfessor Patrick Cavanagh says "V8," the moniker a team of which he was part coined for an area of the
-
Harvard Flu May Be Linked To State Influenza OutbreakA recent rash of illnesses reported at University Health Services (UHS) may be part of a larger outbreak of influenza
-
Researchers Shrink Brain Tumors in MiceImagine being diagnosed with a glioblastoma, the most common—and deadly—type of brain tumor. Now imagine that with a single injection,
-
Eliot House
