BACKGROUND Among scorpion species, the Buthidae produce the most deadly and painful venoms. However, little is known regarding the venom components that cause pain and their mechanism of action. Using a paw-licking assay (Mus musculus), this study compared the pain-inducing capabilities of venoms from two species of New World scorpion (Centruroides vittatus, C. exilicauda) belonging to the neur...

In general, rodents prefer both sucrose and L-serine relative to water and treat both compounds as possessing a similar taste quality (e.g. 'sweetness') despite that they are believed to bind with different T1R heterodimeric receptors in taste bud cells. We assessed the affective potency of these compounds along with glycine, which is thought to bind with both T1R receptor complexes, using a br...

The discovery that cells in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract express the same molecular receptors and intracellular signaling components known to be involved in taste has generated great interest in potential functions of such post-oral "taste" receptors in the control of food intake. To determine whether taste cues in the GI tract are detected and can directly influence behavior, the present st...

Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) are orexigenic peptides found in hypothalamic neurons that project throughout the forebrain and hindbrain. The effects of fourth ventricle (4V) infusions of NPY (5 microg) and MCH (5 microg) on licking for water, 4 mM saccharin, and sucrose (0.1 and 1.0 M) solutions were compared to identify the contributions of each peptide to hindbr...

ON JULY 21, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin set up an array of small reflectors on the moon, facing them toward Earth. At the same time, two teams of astrophysicists, one at the University of California’s Lick Observatory and the other at the University of Texas’s McDonald Observatory, were preparing small instruments on two big telescopes. Ten days later, the Lick team ...

We present results of a comprehensive infrared coronagraphic search for substellar companions to nearby stars. The research consisted of (1) a 178-star survey at Steward and Lick observatories, with optical follow-up from Keck Observatory, capable of detecting companions with masses greater than 30 MJ, and semimajor axes between about 140 to 1200 AU; (2) a 102-star survey using the Keck Telesco...