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Just me again, with more evidence of the growth of research increasing just about as fast as the internet. When I think of the technology that I've (almost) started taking for granted on my desktop, versus 10 short years ago; and then apply that analogy to the average scientist/researcher, I can only be filled with wonder and hope. For all of us. Janet -------------------------------------------------------------------- CELL BIOLOGY Regulating G Protein Signaling -------------------------------------------------------------------- Wade Roush Cell biologists have long known that cells can damp down their responses to hormones, neurotransmitters, and other regulators, but exactly how this "desensitization" occurs has been unclear. Now a flurry of work from several labs is revealing how one major group of intracellular communication lines -- those using G proteins to transmit signals to the cell interior -- achieves this volume control. Researchers have identified a new family of proteins, known as the RGS proteins (for regulators of G protein signaling), that attenuate signaling through those pathways, apparently by binding to one of the three protein subunits that make up a complete G protein. The new findings could lead to a much better understanding of how G protein-signal pathways work -- information that could have practical implications as up to 60% of all drugs exert their effects through these pathways. Volume 271, Number 5252, Issue of 23 February 1996, pp. 1056-1058 )1996 by The American Association for the Advancement of Science. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Janet Paterson - 48 - 7 - [log in to unmask] - Bermuda