Pituri, aka mingkulpa, is a mixture of leaves and wood ash traditionally chewed as a stimulant (or, after extended use, a depressant) by Aboriginal Australians widely across the continent.
Leaves are gathered from any of several species of native tobacco (Nicotiana) or from at least one distinct population of the species Duboisia hopwoodii. Various species of Acacia, Grevillea and Eucalyptus are burned to produce the ash. The term “pituri” may also refer to the plant
The term “hormesis” derives from Greek hórmēsis for “rapid motion, eagerness”, itself from ancient Greek hormáein to excite. The same Greek root provides the word hormone.
Hormesis is a two-phased dose-response relationship to an environmental agent whereby low-dose amounts have a beneficial effect and high-dose amounts are either inhibitory to function or toxic. Within the hormetic zone, the biological response to low-dose amounts of some stressors is generall
Arsenic: The Element of Surprise (and Murder)
Let’s dive into the sordid history of arsenic, the “King of Poisons” and the “Poison of Kings.” Our story begins in ancient times, when alchemists were busy trying to turn lead into gold. Little did they know, they were playing with fire – or rather, arsenic. Thes
Baruch Samuel Blumberg (1925 – 2011), aka Barry Blumberg, was an American physician, geneticist, co-recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (with Daniel Carleton Gajdusek), for his work on the hepatitis B virus. He was also the first director of NASA Astrobiology Institute.
He was also president of the American Philosophical Society from 2005 until his death. Blumberg and Gajdusek received the Nobel Prize for discovering “new mechanisms for the origin and dissemination of infectious diseases.” Blumberg identified the hepatitis B virus, and later develo
Daniel Carleton Gajdusek (1923 – 2008) was an American physician and medical researcher who was the co-recipient (with Baruch S. Blumberg) of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1976 for work on the transmissibility of kuru, implying the existence of an infectious agent, which he named an ‘unconventional virus’.
His papers are held at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland and at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Early life and education Gajdusek’s father, Karol Gajdusek, was a Slovak butcher from Smrdáky, Kingdom of Hungary, now S
The first hepatitis B vaccine was approved in the United States in 1981. A recombinant version came to market in 1986. Both versions were developed by Maurice Hilleman and his team. (a history of hepatitis B vaccine)
Preliminary work In 1963, the American physician/geneticist Baruch Blumberg, working at the Fox Chase Cancer Center, discovered what he called the “Australia Antigen” (HBsAg) in the serum of an Australian Aboriginal person. In 1968, this protein was found to be part of the virus that
Wolf Szmuness, epidemiologist and former roommate of a future Pope John Paul II, is named in an AIDS origin theory involving his hepatitis B vaccine trials
Wolf Szmuness (1919 – 1982) was a Polish-born epidemiologist who emigrated to and worked in the United States. He conducted research at the New York Blood Center and, from 1973, he was director of the Center’s epidemiology laboratory. He designed and conducted the trials for the first
Adamalysin II, the protein world’s very own Eastern diamondback rattlesnake superstar
Adamalysin II, alias proteinase II, a 24 kDa zinc-endopeptidase isolated from the snake venom of the Eastern diamondback rattlesnake Crotalus adamanteus, is a prototype, of the proteolytic domain of snake venom metalloproteinases and of domains found in mammalian reproductive tract proteins.
Marx SO, Reiken S, Hisamatsu Y, Gaburjakova M, Gaburjakova J, Yang YM, Rosemblit N, Marks AR. Phosphorylation-dependent regulation of ryanodine receptors: a novel role for leucine/isoleucine zippers. J Cell Biol. 2001 May 14;153(4):699-708. doi: 10.1083/jcb.153.4.699. PMID: 11352932; PMCID: PMC2192391.
Abstract Ryanodine receptors (RyRs), intracellular calcium release channels required for cardiac and skeletal muscle contraction, are macromolecular complexes that include kinases and phosphatases. Phosphorylation/dephosphorylation plays a key role in regulating the function of many ion channels, in
Oxytocin: The Molecular Maestro of Love and Labor
Buckle up, hormone enthusiasts! We’re about to take a wild ride into the world of oxytocin, the “love hormone” that’s been playing Cupid in our bodies since the dawn of mammalian evolution. This tiny peptide packs a punch that would make even Hercules jealous! Picture this: a
Valine
Valine (symbol Val or V) is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated −NH3+ form under biological conditions), an α-carboxylic acid group (which is in the deprotonated −COO− form under biological conditio
Insall R. Dispatch. Dictyostelium chemotaxis: fascism through the back door? Curr Biol. 2003 Apr 29;13(9):R353-4. doi: 10.1016/s0960-9822(03)00274-4. PMID: 12725750.
Abstract Aggregating Dictyostelium cells secrete cyclic AMP to attract their neighbours by chemotaxis. It has now been shown that adenylyl cyclase is enriched in the rear of cells, and this localisation is required for normal aggregation. Dictyostelium discoideum cells undergo a major lif
Eraso Y. Biotypology, endocrinology, and sterilization: the practice of eugenics in the treatment of Argentinian women during the 1930s. Bull Hist Med. 2007 Winter;81(4):793-822. doi: 10.1353/bhm.2007.0130. PMID: 18084107; PMCID: PMC2629848.
SUMMARYThis article looks at medical approaches to women’s fertility in Argentina in the 1930s and explores the ways in which eugenics encouraged the reproduction of the fit and attempted to avoid the reproduction of the unfit. The analysis concentrates on three main aspects: biotypology (the scie
the hormone hustle
We’re about to embark on a time-traveling, mind-bending journey through the evolution of normalization, biopolitics, and the wild world of hormones. From Foucault’s philosophical bombshells to Nicola Pende’s hormone-fueled science experiments, this is a story that will leave y
Beccalossi C. Sexology, sexual development, and hormone treatments in Southern Europe and Latin America, c.1920-40. Hist Human Sci. 2023 Dec;36(5):94-121. doi: 10.1177/09526951231213028. Epub 2023 Dec 6. PMID: 38077463; PMCID: PMC10700059.
AbstractDisplacing the physiological model that had held sway in 19th-century medical thinking, early 20th-century medical scientists working on hormones promoted a new understanding of the body, psychological reactions, and the sexual instinct, arguing that each were fundamentally malleable. Hormon