From: Robert J. Bradbury (bradbury@www.aeiveos.com)
Date: Sat Sep 04 1999 - 04:58:53 MDT
It seems in some of the discussions, that some people are less
aware of the degree to which we are shackled by our biological
heritage than I am. [Or they may simply want to believe this.]
I realized in reading an pharma-industry newsletter (Emerging
Pharmaceuticals) tonight, that one reason for this may simply
be that I've been somewhat immersed in the Biotech/Pharma
industry for many years and have information sources that
reach the public later or in a much distilled or distorted
form.
So, I thought I would throw out a few tidbits from the
Sept. 1999 issue of the newsletter:
a) Scientists at the Univ. of Cambridge, INSERM and the firm
Bioproject have developed a drug BP-897, that has specificity
for the D3-dopamine receptors (over the D1/D2/D4). The drug
appears to suppress the stimulus associated "cravings" that
occur following withdrawal in cocaine addicted rats. They
speculate that this could suppress the cravings that occur in
other with other addictions such as nicotine or heroin.
b) A recently discovered 28-mer peptide called "orexin B" which may
be identical to the separately discovered "hypocretin-2" appears
to be the molecule that keeps you awake. Stanford and UTSMC
groups have separately verified that in dogs with defective
receptors for this molecule and mice with the orexin B knocked
out suffer from narcolepsy (falling asleep in the middle of
activities). The molecule also appears to be involved in
regulating appetite.
c) Two proteins cryptochrome-1 and -2, found which are concentrated
in the eye appear to be the light-sensitive sensors that mediate
the resetting of the circadian functions.
So, we have "cravings", "wakefullness", "appetite" and "body
rhythms" under the control of these little molecules. I believe
that I may have mentioned in a previous post that leptin appears
to be the hormone for triggering sexual maturation.
Since we have only scratched the tip of the iceberg, I think the
people who want to believe "I *am* my own master", have their
work cut out for them in defending, what I predict will be an
ever shrinking set of characteristics, behaviors, desires, motivations,
etc. of which they are the master. Yes, we can modify ourselves,
but our degrees of freedom are *limited*, until we have the
technologies to change the hardware.
Robert
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